Chinese Influencer Dies After Drinking Pesticide During Livestream

A Chinese online personality named Luo Xiao Mao Mao Zi died by suicide last week after she was encouraged by some members of her audience to drink pesticide during a Livestream on social media.

As per reports, the 25-year-old died on Friday after drinking pesticide during a broadcast on the Chinese app Douyin. During the streaming, she had said that her friends know how she was diagnosed with depression and had been in hospital for two months.

Luo Xiao Mao Mao Zi had over 678,000 followers on Douyin with 38 short videos on her account. In the livestream, she said, "This is probably my last video as I have been suffering from depression for a long time." An unnamed friend of the influencer said that someone encouraged her to drink a pesticide-laced beverage. She was then taken to a hospital but she died during emergency medical treatment, her family confirmed as per local media reports.

After her death, the screenshots from the last Livestream have gone viral on the internet. Some of the images show the some audience member saying, "drink it quickly". While others warned to call the police. The influencer's friend claimed that she did not want to die but just wanted attention from her boyfriend that way. Luo Xiao Mao Mao Zi's family members are reportedly going to sue the audience members who encouraged her to drink the pesticide as they allegedly were responsible for her death. A lawyer named Ding Jinkun of Shanghai-based Dabang Law Firm was reported saying that the messages with direct connection to the influencer's suicide could be suspected of intentional homicide. He also said that the video platform also failed to detect and prevent suicide.

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