WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A woman in New Zealand who was convicted of murdering her two children and leaving their bodies in suitcases for years before they were discovered will spend at least 17 years in prison, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Justice Geoffrey Venning told Hakyung Lee at the High Court hearing in the city of Auckland that she would begin her sentence as a patient in a locked psychiatric facility, under New Zealand’s compulsory mental health treatment law. Lee must return to prison when she is well enough, the judge said.

In September a jury found Lee guilty of the murders of Minu Jo, 6, and Yuna Jo, 8, rejecting a defense of insanity. Her lawyers argued Wednesday for a reduced sentence because of her mental illness, saying their client felt shame for her crimes and had b

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