Beijing: A Chinese court sentenced a young woman to four years in jail for killing a man who sexually assaulted her, a verdict inviting criticism from the netizens.
19-year-old Xuan Xiaoqi was sentenced to jail by the Guangzhou Intermediate People`s Court in Guangdong Province for killing Yang Jinyuan, 50, when he attempted to rape her.
Yang, a porter at the Guangzhou railway station, invited Xuan to stay with him in May this year when he found her stranded at the station overnight to take train to Xiamen the next morning.
Xuan told police that Yang sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave his apartment.
Xuan said that she grabbed a knife to "frighten Yang". But Yang persisted with his assault.
During their scuffle, Xuan first stabbed the man on his collarbone and later in the chest and head when he tried to wrestle to get the knife.
She continued to stab him until he fell to the floor and stopped moving, Chinese Daily Global Times reported.
The court found that Xuan was justified in defending herself but committed intentional homicide by continuing to stab Yang after he fell to the ground.
Most of the Chinese microbloggers feel that sentence was too heavy and believe the woman had the right to defend herself.
Some said her four-year sentence was incomprehensible, the daily reported.
Some law experts supported the court verdict.
"When the man was unable to continue his attack, she attacked him," Qu Xinjiu, a criminal law professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, told the newspaper.
However, Chen Tao, a lawyer with the Criminal Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, said the sentence was too heavy as Xuan could not judge whether Yang could still attack her, adding that Xuan should have been given a suspended sentence.
PTI
