murder case chinaA man from China has been sentenced to death for setting his ex-wife on fire. The court in China came to that verdict on Thursday, various national media report. The horrific murder hit the country like a bomb and sparked again the discussion about the protection of vulnerable women.
The victim, 30-year-old Lhamo, was a popular vlogger living in southern Sichuan province. Almost daily she made videos about her life on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. During her very last recording, in which she cooked in her kitchen and sang for hundreds of thousands of followers, things went horribly wrong. Her ex-husband Tang Lu stormed out of nowhere, poured gasoline on her and then set her on fire. Listeners could hear the screams of the family and en masse called the police.
The woman was taken to hospital with very serious burns, where she died two weeks later. “She looked like a piece of charcoal,” her sister told The New York Times. “He burned almost all of her skin off.”
Terrified
According to the sister, the extreme action of Tang Lu did not come out of the blue. Lhamo was terrified of her ex-husband and had long feared for her safety and for her family. The man threatened to kill her children if she did not come back to him. In a blind panic, the woman warned the police, but they would have ignored her pleas.
Fearing for her life, Lhamo remarried her ex, but the abuse continued. When Lhamo divorced again and went to the authorities, she was told it was a “personal family matter” and that the police couldn’t do anything for her, her sister says.
Women’s position
The case received a lot of attention in China because of the horrific character and the strong allegations of the relatives. Experts conducted according to CNN ‘heated debates’ about how the Chinese justice system is failing to protect victims of domestic violence and convict perpetrators. China formally has gender equality, but in practice women are widely discriminated against, belittled and treated unequally.
In 2016, the government introduced a new law to minimize domestic violence. But the penalties are minimal and women say restraining orders barely work. According to Beijing Equality, a women’s rights organization, more than 900 women have died at the hands of their husbands or partners since the law was introduced.
Tang’s actions had a terrible impact on our society. This extremely cruel crime deserves a severe punishment
No mercy
Combating domestic violence is once again high on the agenda due to Lhamo’s violent death. During the trial, which was followed closely by millions of people, the judge showed no mercy for the suspect. “Tang’s actions had a terrible impact on our society. This extremely cruel crime deserves a severe punishment,” the verdict read.
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