A 27-year-old internet star has died after drinking 'Chinese firewater' on a live stream.
Zhong Yuan Huang Ge was allegedly seen chugging a bottle of the local spirit known as baijiu, which alcohol content ranges between 35 to 60 per cent. Huang's Douyin account – the Chinese version of TikTok – has reportedly since been deleted.
His wife confirmed the devastating news, according to The Straits Times, explaining that he had been "desperately" trying to make money to pay off debt.
She said he had "to repay hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt that he owed before his marriage".
Huang's death marks the second in a month as a result of drinking challenges, after a fellow influencer experienced a similar fate.
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The man, identified as Wang Moufeng, was found dead on 17 May after reportedly drinking four bottles of the alcohol for his fans.
"When his family found him, he was already gone," a friend identified as Zhao informed Shangyou News. "He didn’t even get a chance for emergency treatment."
In a bizarre turn of events, the pair were actually friends with Huang attending Moufeng's funeral weeks prior to his own death.
"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," Zhao told The Straits Times.
He added: "The PK games ended at around 1 a.m. and by 1 p.m., (when his family found him) he was gone."
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