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BEIJING (AFP) – The tragic case of a live broadcaster who died after her ex-husband set her on fire has sparked outrage over domestic violence on Chinese social media.
The 30-year-old woman, named Lamu, died on Wednesday (September 30) after efforts to save her life failed, according to a statement from the Jinchuan County Police, in the remote northwest of Sichuan province.
He had more than 885,000 followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and regularly posted videos of his daily life foraging for food in the mountains, cooking, and singing songs dressed in traditional Tibetan clothing.
Thursday’s police statement confirmed earlier local media reports that her ex-husband, surnamed Tang, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire in their home on September 14.
She was transferred to the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital for treatment on September 17.
Lamu suffered burns to 90 percent of her body, her sister told Chengdu Commercial Daily.
Tang allegedly attacked her while she was broadcasting live. She had a history of domestic violence, local media said.
He was taken into custody on suspicion of intentional homicide, police said.
Lamu’s fans had raised one million yuan (S $ 200,800) for his hospital treatment shortly after the attack, local media reported.
Tens of thousands of grieving followers left comments on his Douyin page, while millions of users on the Twitter-like platform Weibo demanded justice using the trending hashtags #CasoLamu and #Lamu died after being set on fire by his ex-husband, who were then censored.
“Remove the ‘internet celebrity’ label, she is just an ordinary woman who unfortunately suffered domestic violence and was abused and threatened,” read a comment with more than 28,000 likes.
Others called for their attacker to be sentenced to death.
Several other high-profile domestic violence cases have sparked protests in China this year, and people have called on lawmakers to do more to seek justice for the victims.
In June, a woman from Henan province was denied a divorce after she jumped out of a second-story window to escape her husband’s physical abuse, leaving her paralyzed.
The court later granted the divorce after his case attracted nationwide attention on social media.
In June, the eastern city of Yiwu introduced a system that allows women to check whether their fiancé has a history of domestic violence, in a move hailed by women’s rights advocates.
China only criminalized domestic violence in 2016, but the problem remains widespread and underreported, especially in underdeveloped rural communities.
Activists worry that a recent change to China’s civil code, which introduced a mandatory 30-day “cooling off” period for couples seeking divorce, could make it more difficult for victims to leave abusive marriages.
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