A woman accused of fatally stabbing an official and injuring another will allege the men sexually assaulted her before the attack.

Lawyers Xia Lin and Xia Nan met with 21-year-old Deng Yujiao on Thursday - 11 days after she allegedly used a fruit knife to attack Deng Guida and Huang Dezhi at Badong's Xiongfeng Hotel.

The attack allegedly happened after Deng, a hotel employee, refused demands for sex from Deng, 44, the director of the business promotion office in Yesanguan, and his 44-year-old junior colleague Huang.

Deng died from his injuries and Huang survived with knife cuts to his arm.

Speaking to China Daily on Friday, Xia Lin said that Deng would allege the men sexually assaulted her before the attack.

He called on police to act quickly to collect Deng's bra and underwear - currently in the possession of her mother - so any evidence supporting the allegations would not be "damaged".

Meanwhile, police revealed that Xiongfeng manager He Dehong was questioned about allegations that the hotel was running an illegal sex trade.

The case is being closely watched by netizens to prevent any cover-up by police, who on May 11 issued a statement saying that Deng Guida "pushed" the woman on the sofa but later toned that down to a "nudge" and added two witnesses at the scene.

The lawyer said that he was so concerned about this evidence being lost that he wept after Thursday's meeting, which lasted for 2 hours in the morning and a further 1.5 hours in the afternoon.

The two lawyers are providing free legal representation for Deng.

"Lawyers are not allowed to intervene in the case until it is presented to the People's Procuratorate but considering now is a couple of weeks after the incident, we are worried that it is too late to collect the evidence", Xia Lin said.

He also said any evidence on Deng's underwear could be outdated and invalid, but he refused to elaborate further.

Xia Nan said that he was confident Deng could defend the charges, but he refused to comment on whether she would claim self-defense.

"We are not allowed to release any more information at this time," the lawyer said, adding that Deng was calm and composed during the meeting, despite claims that she suffered from mental illness.

Deng handed herself in to police after the May 10 attack. She then underwent a series of mental health checks in hospital and was released into Badong county police custody on May 20.

Meanwhile, officials from Hubei provincial authority have been sent to supervise the investigation.

Police from Hubei's Enshi county were in the process of collecting evidence on Friday.

(China Daily May 23, 2009)