Chinese man dies after setting his own house on fire

In a suspected arson attack, a Chinese man has died after he allegedly set his house on fire following a quarrel with his family in the southern Guangdong Province.
A video clip of the man trapped in a fire in Guangzhou, with no one going for his rescue has gone viral evoking anger and outrage over people'sindifference in helping others.
The 42-second video, filmed by Li (pseudonym) on April 14 shows a man crying for help while he stands trapped in a burning building behind a barred window, the Beijing-based Legal Daily newspaper reported.
The fire fighters on its official handle confirmed that the man in the video had died in the accident and blamed Li for not rushing to his help, instead of filming it.

A preliminary investigation showed that the man died as the result of his own act of arson after a conflict with his family, state-run Global Times reported.
Li later argued that he had tried to save the man in the video but failed because he was too far away to reach the man in time.

Around 14,000 online posts hashtagged "fire photographer's cruel 42 seconds" have received more than 16.4 million clicks on Sina Weibo, and many users have left angry comments blaming Li.
"There is no law demanding that common people have the responsibility to save others in fires, but it is the moral obligation of people to help others," an official from a fire corps in Beijing said.

"Modern devices such as smartphones have made it possible to record and spread information in a short time," said He Hui vice director of the Public Relations and Public Opinion Institute at the Communication University of China.
"Meanwhile, people tend to record more and express themselves to gain attention from others as a form of self-aggrandisement," he said.
He added that inadequate social security mechanisms make people more concerned about their personal interests, which may be damaged by participating in such events.
"It is the unfairness and injustice of our society that create such an indifferent response in people," Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor with the Renmin University of China, said.