Chen Hong'an started serving a three-year prison sentence for intentional homicide in April, but the judge who heard his case says he knows Chen is no killer.

"He didn't actively commit murder," said Li, the judge, who did not want to be fully identified. "If he had, he would be serving life, or possibly even have been given a death sentence."

According to Chen's defense attorney, Chen had been caring for his 79-year-old mother in Pengshui county, Chongqing, since October 2011. She had been hit by a motorcycle and had suffered severe leg injuries, but refused surgery at a nearby hospital.