Beijing, Nov 24 (IANS): A court in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province Monday upheld the sentences of a husband and wife for intentional homicide, rape and robbery.

The Higher People's Court of Heilongjiang rejected the couple's appeals and upheld the penalties meted out by the Jiamusi Intermediate People's Court in June, which sentenced Bai Yunjiang to death and his wife Tan Beibei to life imprisonment.

According to the court, Tan, who was pregnant at the time, July 24, 2013, lured a 17-year-old girl, identified as Hu, to her home by pretending to have pregnancy complications, Xinhua reported.

The couple then gave the teenager a yoghurt drink spiked with Clonazepam, which is a sedative, and Bai attempted to rape her.

The sexual assault was unsuccessful but the couple killed the girl anyway and buried her body, the court said.

Tan said her husband was aware that she had several extra-marital affairs and the idea to acquire a young girl for her husband's pleasure had emerged out of guilt.

The court also found that the couple had previously failed with two similar attacks -- one was the attempted rape of one of their daughter's classmates in June last year and the other was the attempted robbery and murder of one of Bai's former classmates in mid-July last year.

The higher court affirmed the facts and evidence of the first trial and declared the judgment and sentencing appropriate.