Chinese vlogger dies after ex-husband sets her on fire during livestream

A Chinese influencer died on September 30, two weeks after her former husband allegedly doused her in petrol, and set her on fire, as she was attempting to live stream. According to news reports, she died after suffering burns on 90 per cent of her body.

The case has prompted conversation on social media about violence against women in China.

Lamu was popular on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, where she had hundreds of thousands of followers.

The 30-year-old from China's Sichuan province, was known for her upbeat posts about rural life, and was praised for not using make up in her videos, the BBC reported.

On September 14, the day of the attack, Lamu was livestreaming when suddenly her screen went black. Her former husband, identified as Tang, had allegedly broken into her house armed with a knife and petrol.

A statement from the Jinchuan County Public Security Bureau said that after the attack, she was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital for further treatment.

Her family asked her followers for financial help and more than one million yuan (Dh540,900) were raised in a day, as per local media reports.

However, she died after battling for her life for more than two weeks.

Abusive relationship

Local media reports stated that Tang had a history of domestic abuse.

Lamu's brother-in-law, identified as Luo, said he had heard his wife "mention that her sister was often beaten by Tang".

Lamu reportedly divorced Tang earlier this year in May. The pair have two children, and each gained custody of one child.

However, soon after the divorce, Tang reportedly threatened to kill one child if Lamu refused to remarry him.

The pair reportedly got remarried but Lamu soon ran away from him. Tang attacked Lamu’s relatives trying to find out about her whereabouts. Lamu’s family members complained to the police but no action was taken, they claim.

Lamu eventually divorced him again and he gained custody of both children.

Police told local media that Tang was detained, on September 14, on suspicion of "intentional homicide". Further investigations are underway.

The case has sparked a discussion on China's social media platform Weibo about women’s safety in China. Reportedly, more than 70 million people have used a hashtag mentioning the influencer’s death.