A young Han woman at the centre of an alleged sexual-assault case that sparked a deadly clash in Guangdong between Uygur and Han Chinese workers said the incident was caused by her 'unintentional scream', Xinhua reported.
The brawl between the two sides at a toy factory in Shaoguan on June 26 was in turn blamed by some for inciting ethnic unrest in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi on Sunday.
In an interview with Xinhua, the 19-year-old woman said she only found out later that she was the cause of the fatal factory fight. Authorities said two Uygurs were killed in the brawl, although many from both sides refused to believe the government figure and said the death toll was higher. The incident stirred the mutual distrust and hatred between Uygur and Han and some claimed it was the reason for the ethnic clashes in Urumqi.
The woman, a trainee who had worked at the factory for less than two months, yesterday told Xinhua that she was not sexually harassed by anyone.
'I was lost and entered the wrong dormitory and screamed when I saw those young Uygur men in the room,' said Huang Cuilian, originally from rural Guangdong.
She said one of the young men stood up and stamped his feet as if he was going to chase her, and she let out a scream. 'I later realised that he was just making fun of me.'