BADONG, Hubei province: The lawyer representing pedicurist Deng Yujiao, charged with killing an official, said yesterday that he would not quit the case even though the defendant's mother had annulled their contract.

A day after Deng's mother Zhang Shumei announced she was dissolving the contract because the lawyer had not been able to "carry out his duties satisfactorily", Xia Lin said a misunderstanding had led her to take the decision.

On Saturday morning, the local Badong government website posted a statement from Zhang, saying she was dissolving the contract.