Chu’s friend said the dead man once drank cooking oil to impress his fans. Photo: Baidu.com
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2186975/fatal-fame-chinese-man-drinks-himself-death-chasing-live-stream People & Culture
Chinese man drinks himself to death chasing the live-stream dream and US$74 a day
- Chu, 29, said to have filmed himself drinking beer, spirits and even cooking oil every day for three months
- Man fell ill on way home from his final performance at a supermarket in Dalian
A 29-year-old Chinese man died while in pursuit of internet fame. Photo: Baidu.com
A man from northeast China who wanted to become an online celebrity has died after filming himself drinking alcohol and other things every day for three months, a news website reported, quoting a person claiming to be a friend of the victim.
The drinker, identified only as a 29-year-old surnamed Chu, made his last online appearance on December 31 when he live-streamed himself via the Liaoliao app “drinking alcohol” in a supermarket in Dalian, Liaoning province, Thepaper.cn reported on Tuesday.
“He died not because he drank that day, but because he had done so for three months,” the unnamed friend said.
“He drank beer and other things, without taking a rest, even for a day.”
Chu’s drinking was broadcast in several virtual rooms on the app, where viewers can communicate with the subject and one another in real time, the report said.
His friend said that as well as beer and spirits, Chu once drank cooking oil for his fans in the hope of getting cash rewards from them.
“In one video clip, he sat there telling people he couldn’t do it any more. He was twitching, but people still asked him to continue,” the friend said, adding that Chu earned about 500 yuan (US$74) a day for his efforts.
Chu fell ill after his final online appearance drinking in a supermarket in Dalian. Photo: Baidu.com
The report provided no information about the cause of death, but said Chu fell ill while taking a taxi home on New Year’s Eve after his drinking session in the supermarket. The driver became concerned and called the police who arranged for him to be taken to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
A man surnamed Wang, who supervises of one of the rooms Chu used, was quoted as saying that he was “partly responsible” for his death, although he added that the app’s owners should take most of the blame.
Liaoliao.com was established in 2000 as a voice-chat room and later spawned the live-streaming app.
As the news of Chu’s death became known, the app halted all of its live-streaming functions and the website blocked access to its videos.
A notice on the website said: “In response to the country’s ‘Internet Clean-up 2019’ initiative, we have launched a self-inspection. All videos have been shut down until further notice.”
Chu is not the first person to die in China while pursuing the live-stream dream.
Earlier this month, a man in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, was killed while trying to impress his internet fans by jumping from a bridge into a river.
In 2017, a man fell to his death while taking a selfie atop a skyscraper in Hunan province in a bid to win a 100,000 yuan bet.