VIENNA - AUSTRIA'S supreme court on Thursday sentenced a 56-year-old man to life prison for trying to kill the mayor of small market town with a rat poison-laced chocolate.
Helmut Osberger, a vineyard owner, had originally been given a 20-year jail sentence for the attempted murder of Hannes Hirtzberger, mayor of Spitz-an-der-Donau, west of Vienna.
Hirtzberger collapsed on February 8, 2008, after eating a chocolate liqueur that had been left, along with a note, on the windshield of his car.
Osberger was arrested after traces of his DNA were found on the note, which read: 'I want to tell you something important. You are someone very special to me.'
He denied involvement and appealed against the original sentence. The prosecution also lodged an appeal, demanding a life sentence.
The supreme court lengthened the sentence and its ruling noted the 'perfidity and malice' of the crime.
Hirtzberger, 56, is in a persistent vegetative state in hospital and is likely to sustain permanent damage, doctors say.
Tests showed the mayor was poisoned by strychnine, which is widely used to kill rats. -- AFP
