BEIJING (AFP) – - A Chinese waitress convicted of killing an official who demanded sex walked free from court Tuesday, after a nationwide Internet campaign hailed her as a heroine for standing up to government sleaze.

In a case that sparked widespread outrage, Deng Yujiao, 21, was put on trial for stabbing to death a local official in central China in May, in what she said was self-defence after he tried to force himself on her sexually.

Deng, a waitress at a hotel in the city of Badong, was initially detained on suspicion of murder after the incident, in which she said the man hit her repeatedly after she refused his advances.

She also stood accused of injuring a second official who had made unwanted sexual advances, according to the state Xinhua news agency.

Full Story: AFP/Yahoo SG