Chinese man charged with arson after setting fire to his own car for live-streamed broadcast

A man in northeastern China has been put under detention and charged with arson after he set fire to his car for a live online broadcast and firefighters needed to be called, Chinese media reports.

Two fire engines and 14 firefighters attended the fire in a village in Dalian, Liaoning province on Tuesday morning when a man reported his car was on fire, the Liaoshen Evening News reported.

The car burned almost to its frame when the firefighters arrived, and it took them only a few minutes to douse the fire, the report said.

Suspicions were aroused when investigators enquired about the cause of the fire, as the car owner was vague about the reason and contradicted himself.

Investigators discovered a webcam, microphone and laptop computer at the scene, which the car owner was apparently using to live stream the fire.