diff --git a/lib/xml2js.js b/lib/xml2js.js
index 7ea9e9a..eb3a134 100644
--- a/lib/xml2js.js
+++ b/lib/xml2js.js
@@ -315,14 +315,14 @@ function onError(error) {
 
 module.exports = function (xml, userOptions) {
 
-  var parser = pureJsParser ? sax.parser(true, {}) : parser = new expat.Parser('UTF-8');
+  var parser = pureJsParser ? sax.parser(userOptions.strict??true, userOptions) : parser = new expat.Parser('UTF-8');
   var result = {};
   currentElement = result;
 
   options = validateOptions(userOptions);
 
   if (pureJsParser) {
-    parser.opt = {strictEntities: true};
+    //parser.opt = {strictEntities: userOptions.strictEntities};
     parser.onopentag = onStartElement;
     parser.ontext = onText;
     parser.oncomment = onComment;