BEIJING, June 1, 2009 (AFP) - Police in central China said a woman went too far in defending herself against a sexual assault that led to the death of an assailant identified as a local official, state press reported Monday.

Deng Yunjiao, 21, used "excessive force" when stabbing two officials, one of them lethally, after they tried to rape her at a spa in Badong county, Hubei province, Xinhua news agency reported.

The case has been widely covered by the national media and is the subject of intense interest on Internet blogs, where the main reaction is one of shock over the brash and corrupt lifestyles of Chinese officials.

Deng, a waitress, was being investigated for the alleged May 10 murder of Badong county official Deng Guida, who allegedly attacked her at the Dream Town spa and karaoke bar and tried to rape her, press reports said.

Although she had been detained on suspicion of murder, she was released on bail last week and has not been charged, the report said. Last week, police ruled out that she had been raped.

Deng has won widespread sympathy and has been deemed a heroine by the media, while her lawyers have insisted that she killed in self-defence and should not be punished.

It was not immediately clear if the police statement that said Deng went too far in defending herself meant she would be criminally prosecuted.

Her second assailant, Huang Dezhi, 41, who was also stabbed, has been sacked from his job as a township official and kicked out of the ruling Communist Party, the report said.

Huang also faces criminal charges linked to public order, it said.

A third official, also surnamed Deng, 45, who was with the two lead suspects during the attack, has also been sacked from his township post, but will not be criminally charged, the police statement said.

The three Dengs are not related.

Meanwhile, Hubei province had ordered a police crackdown on prostitution, gambling and drugs at entertainment venues in the region, Xinhua said.