Vlogger dies after being set on fire by ex-hubby

BEIJING: The tragic case of a rural livestreamer who died after being set alight by her ex-husband has triggered outrage over domestic violence on Chinese social media.

The 30-year-old woman, named Lamu, died on Wednesday after efforts to save her life failed, according to a statement from police in Jinchuan county, in the remote northwest of Sichuan province.

She had more than 885,000 followers on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok – and regularly posted videos of her daily life foraging in the mountains, cooking and lipsyncing to songs dressed in traditional Tibetan clothing.

The police statement on Thursday confirmed earlier local media reports that she was doused in petrol and set alight at home by her ex-husband, surnamed Tang, on Sept 14. She was transferred to Sichuan Provincial People’s hospital for treatment on Sept 17.

Lamu suffered burns to 90% of her body, her sister told the Chengdu Commercial Daily.

Her ex-husband Tang reportedly attacked her while she was livestreaming and had a history of domestic violence, local media said.

He was detained on suspicion of intentional homicide, police said.

Lamu’s fans had raised one million yuan (RM613,000) for her hospital treatment shortly after the attack, local media reported.

Tens of thousands of grieving followers left comments on her Douyin page, while millions of users on the Twitter- like platform Weibo demanded justice.