LayarHijau.com—On December 18, the Shanghai police revealed the murder case of a beautiful game streamer named Ku Xuan, who was 25 years old. She was a host on a streaming platform in China.
Earlier reports cited by LayarHijau suggested that the murder suspect, a 27-year-old named Xu, was a top spender of hers.
However, according to recent coverage by Sohu, this information has been claimed to be incorrect. The perpetrator was not Ku Xuan's top spender; he only spent between 30,000 and 40,000 yuan (approximately Rp66.5 million to Rp88.1 million) on her, thus not qualifying as a top spender.
It is reported that the man's intention to give gifts was to get closer to her and pursue a romantic relationship. However, after his advances were rejected, he felt wronged financially and wanted to harm her.
Ku Xuan, who was 25 years old, was originally from Guangdong. She had been a game streamer in Chongqing and Shanghai for two to three years.
She typically livestreamed daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. With her beauty, she easily captured the attention of a predominantly male audience. It is said that top spenders could give gifts totaling over 400,000 yuan (around Rp886 million). Given Ku Xuan's account status and the levels of her top spenders, she likely earned a significant income over the past two to three years.
Considering the amount that top spenders could contribute, Xu's gifts were considerably smaller. It makes sense that Ku Xuan would not respond to his love confession.
Xu reportedly disguised himself as a delivery courier when he attempted to enter Ku Xuan's apartment on December 13 at around 4:00 PM.
Insiders revealed that the two had a confrontation after Ku Xuan realized he was not a courier. The beautiful woman even shouted that she would call the police.
Rumors are circulating online that she was sexually assaulted by Xu before her death. However, this allegation was not included in the police report, so the truth of this claim remains uncertain.
On that day, Ku Xuan was still livestreaming. Some viewers heard sounds of a struggle and an attack. The police received a report and arrived at the scene by 7:00 PM. When arrested, Xu attempted to take his own life but seemingly changed his mind out of fear of the pain.
Several netizens in China shared screenshots showing a man appearing from behind Ku Xuan during the livestream. However, the man in the screenshot was wearing pajamas, so it has not been confirmed if he was Xu.
This case has sparked heated discussions among netizens regarding the phenomenon of gifting during livestream and the psychological condition of viewers.
Both male and female streamers engage in livestreaming to earn money. Their income depends on the gifts given by viewers and fans.
To maintain good relationships with their audience, streamers often have to be kind and sometimes pay extra attention to those who give large gifts (top spenders). Thus, netizens feel it is abnormal for someone to expect or hope that their favorite streamer will pursue a romantic relationship just because those streamers seemed kind and attentive to their viewers. After all the hosts and the viewers were strangers who met through the internet.