London - A British man has been jailed for smuggling a World War II-era pistol into a hospital so that his ailing father could kill himself.
Guy Button gave the antique weapon to his 63-year-old father Ian, who was suffering from a terminal lung disease, on October 20, 2008.
His father then shot himself to death in the middle of a busy hospital ward in Northampton, in central England.
Button had pleaded guilty to possessing an illegal firearm and passing it on to his father.
Judge Charles Wide sentenced the 30-year-old to three years in prison Friday, saying he was responsible for the distress caused to patients and staff at the hospital.
However the sentence still fell short of the minimum of five years usually applied in such cases in the United Kingdom. - Sapa-AP