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A teenage boy in China, who was sold as a baby only to be ditched again when he sought out his biological parents years later, has apparently committed suicide, the South China Morning Post reported in the latest shocking development.

Overdosed

Liu Xuezhou, 17, reportedly overdosed and died early Monday morning, Jan. 24, after he consumed a vast quantity of anti-depressants, which were prescribed to him for over a year, according to The Global Times.

He had left behind a 10,000-word suicide note posted on Weibo, where the last words were written 2 minutes after midnight on Monday morning.

Police searched for him after being alerted by the public

Liu's body was discovered by police on the beach in the city of Sanya, in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan.

The police searched for the teen after they were alerted by the public to his lengthy suicide note posted online, which had alarmed readers who became concerned about his personal safety.

After he was found, he was rushed to hospital, but doctors failed to save him.

He was pronounced dead at around 4am, Global Times reported.

What happened

A whirlwind of events preceded this tragedy.

The teenager gained national attention in China in January 2022, just weeks before his death.

His story was sensational and sad at the same time when he disclosed details about his life.

He had shared that his biological parents sold him off as a baby, only to cut ties with him again years later when he went to look for them as a teenager.

The scenario, sounding almost preposterous and shared on social media platforms Weibo and Douyin, led Liu to become the butt of jokes and the subject of intense speculation as to why he was dumped twice.

Police helped him find parents after appeal

Liu was reunited with his parents only in December 2021 with the help of the police.

In his suicide note, Liu claimed to have been a victim of human trafficking, and he said his short life was destined for misfortune.

What happened to Liu as a baby

According to the post, Liu was born in 2005 when his biological parents were not married.

The young couple put the baby boy up for adoption via a human trafficker, an event characterised by Liu as a transactional exchange.

According to media reports, Liu's relatives from his adoptive parents' side have claimed that they spent 27,000 yuan (S$5,742) to receive him.

The money then purportedly served as a bride price, as it went to Liu's biological mother's family when his parents did eventually get married to each other.

Adoptive parents die in accident

The next major tragedy to strike Liu occurred in 2009, when he was just four years old.

His adoptive parents died in an explosion caused by fireworks and firecrackers at home.

Liu survived as he was sleeping at his grandparents' home.

Things then continued to take a turn for the worse after this incident.

Bullied as a child by classmates

As he was put up for adoption and then orphaned, Liu was stigmatised.

He constantly suffered from bullying in primary school.

Subsequently, he claimed he was even molested by a male teacher during junior high school, but had kept this case under wraps all his life.

The aunt of his adoptive family who treated him like her own child left Liu after she got divorced and passed away.

Was aware of being adopted

Growing up, Liu's adopted status was not news to him.

He had heard about it since he was a child.

He then confirmed his adoption with his grandparents.

Sought out biological parents

With the knowledge that he could still have biological parents to turn to, Liu posted a video on a website that hosted abducted children's information in a bid to find their biological parents.

The public who came across his case took interest in him and showed him concern, which led to many to offer help to find his father and mother.

On Dec. 15, 2021, the police in Linfen, in the Shanxi Province in northern China, found Liu's biological father via a technology-enabled positive DNA match.

Not a happy reunion

Any hint of happiness was to be short-lived.

It was soon revealed that his biological parents had divorced and had remarried, with each parent settled down with their respective new family.

To add further to the heartbreak, the reunion between Liu and his adoptive parents was formal and lukewarm, with none of the relief and emotion experienced by other reunited families.

Liu's own words was that his reunion was a formality, with both his biological mother and father unwilling to take him back.

Liu said his biological parents did not allow him to live with them and refused to let him visit their homes.

According to Liu, he had three half-brothers and one half-sister.

Biological parents said Liu wanted a house

His father, Ding Shuangquan, and his mother, surnamed Zhang, told Chinese media a week before their son died that he was trying to force them to buy him a property, which they said they could not afford.

This was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back.

After Liu proposed to his parents to buy or rent a house for him since he had always relied on other people's homes, his parents cut off contact and his mother even blocked him on WeChat.

The mother, Zhang, told a southern China news outlet that she cut off contact with her son so that she can return to her “peaceful life”.

Cyberbullied

Liu's take on what transpired in his unhappy reunion, which he shared on social media platforms with receipts, caused backlash against him as he was seen as being scheming and demanding.

This was after Liu recorded his conversation with his biological mother and put their row online to show what happened to him.

The public did not take his side.

The cyberbullying saw online commenters take a stab at his dress sense, which Liu said were fake branded designer goods that he bought using his part-time job earnings, as well as accuse the teen of seeking his parents out because he wanted a house.

On Jan. 20, just days before his death, Liu said he was contemplating suing his parents for abandoning him twice.

Police investigating, Liu's parents assisting police

As the case has blown up all over China, the authorities have stepped in to restore order and show that justice can be served.

Global Times reported that the local police said on the day Liu died that the case is now being investigated.

The local police said they have received several reports about the boy who claimed to be a victim of child trafficking, and that the public will be informed when investigations have completed.

Liu's birth parents have been asked for a written statement, according to Global Times.

On the social media front, Weibo administrators have sprung into action and cleared some 290 posts related to Liu that supposedly provoked conflict and saw his personal privacy violated.

All photos via Weibo

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