Watching live broadcasts or broadcasting oneself are popular among young Chinese who live by themselves. Photo: IC

A "cam boy" in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province died from eating live centipedes, mealworms and geckos just to attract more followers.

Local police received a call Saturday morning from someone at the Tongguan Garden community in Hefei saying that a man in the compound was having an emergency. 

The police found that the man was unconscious after they arrived at the scene, and later confirmed his death.

The WeChat account of the Anhui Business Daily said there were live creatures, such as centipedes, mealworms and geckos, and alcohol on the table, and his computer was still in live webcast mode when the man was found dead.

The man is said to be a "cam boy" in his 30s, and was drinking liquor in his room. He probably ate the live centipedes, mealworms and geckos to attract more internet users, which might have caused his death.

The case is now under further investigation.

Many internet users criticized this kind of behavior and said "it is stupid for him to risk his life just to catch people's attention."

Some netizens, however, showed their sympathy for this man, commenting that "he must have been in a difficult time and was intended to kill himself."

Live streaming has become so popular in China and many "cam boys" and "cam girls" can earn more than people who have regular jobs. 

However,  a lot of online streamers sometimes do weird and bizarre things, or even perform sexual acts to grab netizens' attention.

Anhui Business Daily