Legal help for woman who killed official

By Wang Qian (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-20 09:01

A woman accused of fatally stabbing an official and injuring another after they propositioned her for sex will receive free legal representation.

Two Beijing-based lawyers, Xia Lin and Xia Nan, met with the woman's mother on Monday as police investigate the attack at Xiongfeng hotel in Badong county, Hubei province, last Sunday.

"We will decide on what course of action we will take once we have met her daughter," Xia Lin said.

Deng Yujiao, an employee at the hotel, was washing clothes in the hotel's spa area when Huang Dezhi, an official from the investment promotion department in Yesanguan, asked her for sexual services, police said.

Deng, 21, refused and said she did not provide the service. Huang, 44, then quarreled with the woman and his superior, Deng Guida, 44, threw a stack of money on her head and pushed her twice on to the sofa.

Deng allegedly stabbed Deng Guida and Huang with a fruit knife. Deng Guida died on the way to hospital and Huang was treated in nearby Yichang city. A third official in the room did not intervene. The woman turned herself in to police later and is suspected of suffering from acute depression, police said.

Comparing with the previous report released by Badong police on May 12, the latest report changed the location from "staff resting room" to "spa service area" and the men's demand from "special services" to "opposite sex bathing services".

The woman's mother, Zhang Shumei, said police removed Deng from the hospital where she was under observation but did not say where they were going.

Jin Gan, 36, a supporter of Deng from Hebei province, met Deng's family on May 16 and visited the accused in Youfu hospital, Hubei's Enshi county, on Sunday.

"She seemed to be in a stable condition, but her family is under great pressure and is very upset about the incident," Jin said. He said he intends to help Deng and show the authorities how "millions of online users" are following the case by recording it on his blog and online posts. "I will assist the lawyers and try to present an objective picture to people," Jin said.