People among the 5 million fans of an influencer in China have been calling the police because the online personality bears a striking resemblance to a fugitive wanted for murder.
Key opinion leader Zhao Shilei, 37, has gained a large number of followers on the mainland short video-sharing app Kuaishou by discussing scandals in the entertainment industry.
On April 15, he was reported by people because he looked strikingly similar to a composite sketch of a fugitive wanted for a murder in 2006.
In August of that year, a person was stabbed to death in Xilinhot city in northern China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The suspects have been at large since.
In April, the city’s police issued a wanted notice with composite sketches of two suspects and offered a reward of 200,000 yuan (US$28,000) for clues.
One of them, estimated to be around 20 years old at the time of the crime, was unnamed and wearing sunglasses, with a well-defined jawline.
Several people online thought the composite sketch looked extremely similar to Kuaishou influencer Zhao and reported him to the police.
Their suspicions were raised by the fact that Zhao was also around 20 years old at the time of the killing.
On April 16, Zhao publicly released old photos of himself from 2006 to prove that he is not the wanted man.
However, a fan noted that Zhao’s volatile behaviour in his early days, which were shown on social media platforms, also made him suspect.
Zhao responded by saying that in 2006, he lived in Shanghai, far from the crime scene in Xilinhot.
The influencer was born in Hulunbuir, a city in Inner Mongolia, but left there aged nine.
Police in Xilinhot said they were investigating the online reports.
“Our main focus is still on locals. Zhao is from Hulunbuir, which is quite far from us,” investigators said.
Hulunbuir is about 960 kilometres northeast of Xilinhot in central Inner Mongolia, a 12-hour drive away.
Zhao said that the reports have caused significant distress to him and his family.
“This is the first time I’ve experienced the maliciousness of people online, who condemn without cause,” said Zhao.
“I am willing to cooperate with the police in all investigations to prove my innocence as quickly as possible. I don’t want this kind of attention,” he added.
An online observer on Kuaishou said: “Please don’t harm others for traffic! Defamation is illegal.”
“When you label someone a murderer, whether they are or not, they already are. That’s what makes rumours so terrifying,” said another.
In China, fabricating facts and slandering others is punishable by up to three years in prison.
