A fireworks shop owner in Hunan province died from drinking pesticide after publicly reporting officials for disciplinary violations, Chinese media reported.
The owner, surnamed Peng, had recently published a video of himself drinking the substance, local authorities in Chenzhou, Hunan province, said in a notice on Monday.
A local task force was investigating the matter to ascertain if the allegations were true and would “deal with the incident according to laws and regulations without mercy”, the statement said.
Peng died on Tuesday, according to Jiupai News, a Hubei-based official media outlet, which quoted a friend of Peng’s.
A person affiliated with Chenzhou No 1 People’s Hospital told Jiupai News that Peng had died after being taken there for treatment, saying “he had drunk too much poison” and that “it was way over a lethal amount”.
Separately, the Shandong-based news outlet Qilu Evening News on Monday reported that the shop exploded on Sunday.
