'Cruel' video of Hong Kong woman with rare skin disease taken down by YouTube after storm of protest
Images of daughter with rare skin condition spark online outrage and prompt parents to launch petition against site carrying shock clips
A video clip showing a Hong Kong woman with a rare skin condition has been removed from YouTube after a barrage of complaints over the unauthorised use of her image by a website that is designed to offend or startle the viewer.
Images of Mui Thomas - who has Harlequin ichthyosis, a rare congenital disorder that leaves her skin red raw and prone to infection - appeared in a video titled 5 Terrifying Rare Birth Diseases of all Time.
The clip was posted on YouTube this month by Elite Facts, which touts itself as a "news media website" and "the world's #1 fact source".
It was removed last week after the video triggered support on social media that snowballed around the globe and hundreds of complaints were flagged.
To remove a clip, web users may make privacy or copyright complaints directly to YouTube or "flag" the offending video. The uploader has 48 hours to take action on a complaint.
The incident surrounding Mui, 22, has prompted her parents, Sai Kung residents Rog and Tina Thomas, to start a petition calling on YouTube to end shock clips on the video-sharing site.