Deng Yujiao incident

Deng Yujiao incident

Participants	Deng Yujiao, Deng Guida, Huang Dezhi
Deaths	1
Non-fatal injuries	2

The Deng Yujiao incident (Chinese: 邓玉娇事件; pinyin: Dèng Yùjiāo Shìjiàn) occurred on 10 May 2009 at a hotel in Badong County, Hubei province, in the People's Republic of China. Deng Yujiao, a 21-year-old pedicure worker, tried to rebuff the advances of Deng Guida (邓贵大; no relation), director of the local township business promotions office, who had come to the hotel seeking sexual services. She allegedly stabbed her assailant several times trying to fight him off, resulting in his death. Badong County police subsequently arrested Deng Yujiao, charged her with homicide, and refused to grant her bail.

This case came to national prominence through internet forums and chatrooms, where netizens were enraged by her treatment. The case resonated with the public anger over the corruption and immorality of officials, and garnered over four million forum posts across the country. Chinese authorities attempted to downplay the incident by limiting its presence on Chinese web portals, and a large number of discussion threads were censored. Following groundswell of public protests and online petitions, prosecutors dropped murder charges, granted her bail, and charged her with a lesser offense of "intentional assault". She was found guilty but did not receive a sentence due to her mental state. The two surviving officials involved in the incident were sacked, also ostensibly in response to public pressure.

Deng Yujiao, a native of Mulongya village, Badong County, was a 21-year-old pedicure worker at the Dream Fantasy City (梦幻城) bath center at Xiongfeng Hotel (雄风宾馆), when the incident occurred.

Deng Guida was the director of the local township's business promotions office. He, his deputy, Huang Dezhi (黄德智), and one other official arrived at the hotel where Deng Yujiao worked on 10 May 2009 and allegedly requested "special services" (a euphemism commonly taken to mean sexual services in China) from Deng Yujiao. She did not submit to the requests. Deng Guida had allegedly pulled out a stack of banknotes worth ¥ 4000 and slapped her in the face with it to show off his wealth. He then pushed Deng Yujiao onto a sofa and proceeded to lay on top of her. At this moment, in self-defense, Deng Yujiao used a small 3 inch knife and stabbed her assailant four times. One of the stabs landed in her assailant's neck, causing him to bleed to death at the scene. His deputy was also stabbed. Police, who apparently found pills in her purse, said Deng Yujiao may have been suffering from acute depression, and took her to a psychiatric hospital on 12 May for examination. During Deng's days in the hospital her arms and ankles were tied to the bed, which was referred to by the police as "a procedure of protection."

...
Wikipedia