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BEIJING • The tragic case of a live broadcaster who died after her ex-husband set her on fire has sparked outrage over domestic violence in China.
The 30-year-old woman, named Lamu, died last Wednesday after efforts to save her life failed, according to a statement from police in Jinchuan County in 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 while wearing traditional Tibetan clothing.
The police statement says that Lamu was doused with gasoline and set on fire at her home by her ex-husband, surnamed Tang, on September 14. He was arrested on suspicion of intentional homicide.
Local media reported that Tang attacked Lamu while he was broadcasting live and that he had a history of domestic violence.
He suffered burns to 90 percent of his body, his sister told the Chengdu Commercial Daily.
Lamu’s fans raised one million yuan (S $ 201,000) for his treatment at the hospital shortly after the attack, local media said.
Millions of users on the Twitter-like platform Weibo demanded justice using the trending hashtags #Lamu case and #Lamu died after her ex-husband set her on fire, which were later 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.
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 her case attracted nationwide attention on social media.
China criminalized domestic violence only 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 divorcing couples, could make it more difficult for victims to leave abusive marriages.
FRANCE MEDIA AGENCY
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