An influencer dies after broadcasting live how he drank bottles of Chinese Baijiu liquor

() — A influencers He died shortly after livestreaming several bottles of high-proof alcohol on the Chinese version of TikTok, the country’s state media reported, in a development likely to renew debate over how to regulate the industry.

He influencers “Sanqiange” (or “Brother Three Thousand”) was found dead a few hours after broadcasting his participation in a competition with another influencer that consisted of drinking Baijiu, a Chinese alcoholic beverage with a typical alcohol content of between 30% and 60% reported Shangyou News.

One of his friends told the outlet that Sanqiange — identified by his real-life surname Wang — had participated in an online challenge known as “PK” against another influencers in the early hours of May 16, and that he broadcast the results live on his Doujin channel.

“PK” challenges consist of one-on-one battles in which players influencers they compete with each other to win rewards and gifts from onlookers, often involving punishment for the loser—apparently, in this case, drinking Baijiu.

“I don’t know how much he had consumed before tuning in to the show. But in the last part of the video, I saw him finish three bottles before starting a fourth,” the friend, identified only as Zhao, told Shangyou News.

“PK’s games ended around 1am and by 1pm (when his family found him) he was dead,” he added.

Wang, described as a “decent and simple” person by Zhao, had a history of recording himself participating in similar drinking contests and posting them on the app.

A video that appeared to show Wang participating in his latest challenge went viral on Chinese social media, but is no longer available for viewing.

In recent years, the rise of live broadcasting has given rise to an industry billionaire in which influential people with an entrepreneurial spirit compete to sell their products in real time on social networks.

Wang’s death is likely to add to the debate surrounding regulation of the sector, which has attracted the attention of authorities in recent years due to the lavish lifestyles of some.”streamers” and the wacky challenges they take part in.

Last year, the country’s broadcasting authorities banned children under 16 from tipping streamers and restricted their access after 10 p.m.

The China National Video and Television Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have also taken measures to ban “31 misconducts by live broadcasters.”

Among these misconduct are “encouraging users to interact in a vulgar way or inciting fans to attack with rumors,” according to the state media Global Times.