BEIJING - POLICE in central China said on Saturday that a young woman accused of murdering an official during an alleged sex attack was not raped, the latest development in a scandal that has shocked the nation.

Lawyers for waitress Deng Yujiao, 21, have insisted that she was sexually violated on May 10 when she fatally stabbed local official Deng Guida in a Hubei province spa and karaoke parlour where she worked.

The case has been widely covered by the national media and is a fixture on Internet blogs which have expressed shock over the brash and corrupt lifestyles of Chinese officials.

Deng has won widespread sympathy and been deemed a heroine by the media after she allegedly killed Mr Deng when he and two other local officials tried to force her to have sex at the Dream Town spa and karaoke bar.

Following the killing, Deng turned herself into the police and remains in custody, charged with murder.

According to numerous state press reports, the officials arrived at the spa after a drinking bout and beat Deng with a wad of cash after she insisted that she was only a waitress and did not provide sexual services.

After repeatedly forcing her down onto a sofa, the young waitress pulled out a manicure knife and stabbed Mr Deng, while slashing one of his partners, the reports said.

The third official has been cleared of any wrong doing, Saturday's statement said.

According to the Beijing Times, Deng's lawyers claim the girl killed out of self-defence and have expressed fears that the police have failed to adequately gather evidence that could show she was raped.

Internet blogs voiced widespread concerns that county authorities and local police would do all they could to minimise the impact of the scandal and protect the local officials from further shame.