A woman in Guangzhou City in south China was sentenced to three years in prison for not stopping her mentally ill roommate from burning a drunk man to death after the man broke into their room and attacked them.

The woman was charged with murder, while her roommate was exempted from criminal responsibility and released due to her mental illness. The court didn't release the full names of the women, New Express newspaper reported yesterday.

The defendant told police that she and her roommate, both over 30, met and started to live together in July 2011. They made a living by picking garbage and the defendant said she knew nothing about her roommate's mental status.

The defendant said that on the night of November 30, 2011, the man broke into their room and attacked the two women, who were already in bed. The defendant tried to drive him out by hitting him on the shoulder with a stick. Her roommate woke up and joined the fight.

The man, surnamed Wang, was struck unconscious by the roommate, who then set fire to him. Doctors said Wang was burned alive.

The defendant watched and walked around as Wang was burned, prosecutors said. Some locals saw the roommate adding straw fuel to the fire at about 12:30am.

The court said that the woman and her roommate had a justifiable defense against Wang until he passed out. At that point, burning him to death was murder. The court said though the woman did not set the fire, she was responsible because her inaction led to Wang's death.

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