Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Warning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some
A Chinese man who set his ex-wife on fire as she livestreamed to her online followers was sentenced to death on Thursday, concluding a murder case that received nationwide notoriety.
The victim, 30-year-old Lhamo, was a farmer and livestreamer in a Tibetan autonomous prefecture in southwestern Sichuan province. She was streaming a video of herself last September when a man burst in, poured gasoline on her and set her on fire. She died two weeks later.
Her ex-husband, Tang Lu, was arrested soon after. On Thursday in court, he was found guilty of homicide, sentenced to death and ordered to pay compensation, according to state-run broadcaster CCTV.
The court found his crime "was extremely cruel" and "deserves severe punishment," CCTV reported.
Tang had a history of physical abuse toward Lhamo, reportedly beating her many times before they divorced in June 2020, according to CCTV. In the following months, he repeatedly sought her out and asked to remarry, but was turned away -- leading to the murder.
The case was widely covered in national and international media, drawing attention for the gruesome nature of Lhamo's death -- as well as raising discussion on the larger problems surrounding women and violence in China.
On Chinese social media, there was heated debate over how the country's legal system often fails to protect victims while easily pardoning perpetrators of abuse.
Part of the problem, many activists and women said, was the lingering and deep-rooted idea that domestic disputes are a family's private problem -- which can often mean authorities are reluctant to get involved, or that women face social stigma for speaking out.
Until 2001, when China amended its marriage law, abuse wasn't considered grounds for divorce.
China only enacted its first nationwide law prohibiting domestic violence in 2015, a groundbreaking piece of legislation that defines domestic violence for the first time, and includes psychological abuse as well as physical violence.
However, critics say there are still gaps -- it excludes same-sex couples and makes no mention of sexual violence.
After the death sentence was handed down Thursday, one user on the Chinese social media platform Weibo argued that "vague" terms like domestic violence should be dropped from legal cases because it "obfuscates right from wrong" and undermines the severity of the crime.
"Intentional assault is intentional assault, and homicide is homicide, regardless of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim," said the user, with the comment gaining more than 24,700 likes.
Many others expressed support for Tang's sentence, and generally of China's use of the death penalty, in response to Lhamo's case.
The topics of domestic violence, abuse and dissatisfaction with the system had already been circulating in public discourse when Lhamo's murder occurred, adding to the growing outrage.
Just a few months before her death, China passed a controversial law requiring couples who want to divorce to first undergo a month-long "cooling off" period -- raising concerns it could further endanger victims of abuse and prevent them from leaving a dangerous relationship.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.