Chinese praise waitress held for stabbing officialBy ALEXA OLESEN – 6 days ago
BEIJING (AP) — A 21-year-old karaoke bar waitress in central China has earned broad public sympathy and support after she was arrested in the fatal stabbing of a communist official who allegedly cornered her in a hotel spa and demanded sex.
Fans are portraying Deng Yujiao as a folk hero who lashed out against injustice and have posted songs and poems online praising her.
A pair of lawyers has volunteered to represent her and coverage of her case in the entirely state-controlled media has been unusually sympathetic.
The outpouring of support even prompted the local government in the central city of Badong to take the extraordinary step of posting a statement online Friday promising her fair treatment.
Deng's popularity reflects widespread anger over corruption and abuse of power by communist cadres, officials and the security forces. The case of a man who last year confessed to killing six Shanghai police officers similarly aroused passionate debate and public sympathy after it was revealed that his attack was revenge for torture he allegedly suffered months earlier while being interrogated about a stolen bike.
Chinese media have cited police as saying Deng turned herself in May 10 shortly after she allegedly used a fruit knife to stab Deng Guida, who ran a local government office for business promotion. They also said she attacked his colleague Huang Dezhi at Badong's Xiongfeng Hotel.
Deng Guida, 43, died later, and Huang, 41, suffered a cut on his arm. The two Dengs are not related.
The Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper said Deng Guida found the waitress in the laundry room of a bathhouse a few floors below the bar where she worked and demanded sex. When she refused, he allegedly forced her down on a couch and blocked her from leaving. Deng then attacked the men with a fruit knife she had in her bag, the paper said.
The waitress's story has prompted an outpouring of posts on Web sites praising her.
A netizen posting under the name WarriorAngel called Deng "the best girl on the planet," and dedicated the lyrics of a popular love song "Like a Mouse Loves Rice" to her. Another writing under the name "Noble Law" composed lines of verse in classical Chinese that described her as "beautiful and fierce."
The Badong government statement, posted on its official Web site, sought to reassure the public that Deng would be given a just hearing, apparently responding to concern that the judiciary might discriminate against anyone suspected of killing an official.
"The work team handling the Deng Yujiao case has committed itself to being transparent, unbiased, objective and just. Authorities will strictly conform to the law in handling this case," spokesman Ouyang Kaiping was quoted as saying.
It also said Deng had yet to be charged. She was hospitalized following her detention because she had a history of depression and required psychological evaluation, the statement said.
Reached by phone, one of Deng's lawyers, Xi Lin, declined to offer further details of the incident but said the account in the Southern Metropolis Daily was accurate.
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