A Chinese social media influencer died less than 12 hours after consuming seven bottles of Baijiu, known as 'Chinese vodka', during a live stream on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, CNN reported.
Notably, the 34-year-old influencer known as "Sanqiange" started a drinking challenge on the Chinese social media platform live at about 1 am, on May 16. The challenge involved drinking Baijiu, a Chinese spirit with a typical alcohol content of between 30% to 60%, Shangyou News reported.
''PK challenges involve one-on-one battles in which influencers compete with each other to win rewards and gifts from viewers, and often involve punishments for the loser – apparently, in this case, drinking Baijiu. I don't know how much he had consumed before I tuned in. But in the latter part of the video, I saw him finish three bottles before starting on a fourth,” his friend, identified only as Mr Zhao, told Shangyou News.
He drank at least seven bottles of baijiu spirits, as per viewers, and was found dead 12 hours after his broadcast, Chinese media reported.
"When his family found him, he was already gone, he didn't even get a chance for emergency treatment," Mr Zhao told Shangyou News.
Shangyou News confirmed that he died of excessive drinking and had been cremated that morning.
As per BBC, Douyin doesn't allow drinking during live streams, with penalties ranging from warnings to users being restricted from livestream competitions and being shown on the app.
The influencer had previously been banned from the app for drinking, but he surpassed the ban by opening new accounts. He also had a history of filming himself taking part in similar contests involving alcohol and posting them on the app.
His death has now sparked huge scrutiny of the safety and regulations of such apps.
