BEIJING: On the evening of Oct 28, Liu Hanbo, 46, a history teacher in Xinzheng city, Henan province, died after teaching a class online. Five days later, a post claiming that she had been the victim of online bullying during the class triggered widespread public attention.
The post, along with a video clip of the online session, was published by Liu’s daughter on Sina Weibo, in which she said that internet users entered the online room and disturbed the class by playing noisy music and being rude while her mother livestreamed the lesson.
“I was informed after two days of my mom’s death from a heart attack. She died alone at home, because my dad, younger sister and I were busy with studies and work outside the city,” the daughter said in the post.
She also suggested more people take notice of online bullying, and asked for increased supervision from Dingding, Alibaba’s remote office system — which her mother used — and other livestreaming platforms. The post has been shared more than 200,000 times and the video clip viewed over 4.33 million times.
The authorities in Xinzheng have attached great importance to the incident. On Nov 2, the local education bureau expressed sadness about Liu’s death, while police in the city confirmed that it was not a criminal case.
Responding to the claim made by Liu’s daughter, the education bureau said the public security department has filed a case for investigation, while Dingding said it is working with police to probe the incident.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
