Vlogger dies after being doused in petrol and set on fire during live stream by ex with domestic abuse history
In what could be deemed a tragic death, a Chinese social media star with thousands of followers was set on fire by her ex-husband while she tried to live stream a video.
Vlogger Lamu was allegedly doused in petrol and set on fire by her ex-husband after he broke into her home with a cleaver and petrol. He attacked her in mid-September while her relatives were present. For two days, her account was silent until her sister, Zhuoma, posted about the attack.
After she was rushed to the hospital, her family appealed to Lamu's huge fan following for financial help and within 24 hours they raised 1 million yuan, which is roughly $147,255. According to reports, the local press says that the influencer had endured burns on 90 percent of her body and died after fighting for her life for two weeks after the incident took place. Doctors declared Lamu dead at around 9 pm on Wednesday, September 30, a police statement said.
30-year-old Lamu had carved herself a following of thousands on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where she shared about her rural life in the Sichuan province. Her videos that portrayed the simple rural life garnered millions of likes.
The Beijing Youth Daily, the state press, reported that Lamu's screen went black quickly after she began live-streaming on September 14. The report also addresses Lamu's husband by only his surname Tang and adds that he had a history of domestic abuse. Despite Lamu divorcing Tang, who she had two children with, back in May, each parent got custody of one child. But she wanted both her children to stay safe with her. Her husband allegedly threatened to kill one child if Lamu did not get married to him again, according to the paper.
Lamu then was forced to remarry him, but couldn't continue to live with him. While she ended up fleeing, her husband reportedly beat her sister up when she wouldn't reveal Lamu's whereabouts. Her family says that they had reported the incident to the police but they did not take any action against him.
Lamu's death and the police inaction that had preceded it has now triggered massive social media outrage against domestic violence across China and many people blame the authorities for not taking the matter seriously. The hashtag #AntiDomesticViolenceDuringEpidemic #疫期反家暴# began gaining traction on social media. At least 70 million people have shared the hashtag mentioning her death.
According to reports, police say that they have detained Tang on suspicion of intentional homicide and are carrying on with their investigation. During the coronavirus lockdown, China saw a threefold increase in cases of domestic abuse reported to police stations in February. These numbers are compared to last year.
China has been receiving flak for its handling of the situation. According to a BBC report, the public hasn't taken too well to a new law that is set to come into effect in 2021. China introduced a new 30-day "cool-off" period before couples are granted a divorce, in order to allow both parties time to rethink their decision. Many people have protested saying that victims of domestic abuse can be easily coerced during a period of 30 days.