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The Chinese influencer, who roasted and ate a great white shark on live stream has been fined 125,000 yuan (S$24,313), the Nanchong Administration For Market Regulation announced via its WeChat channel on Jan. 28.

It was also revealed that the surname of the Sichuan-based vlogger, popularly known by her online pseudonym, Tizi, is Jin.

On Jul. 12, 2022, Jin posted a video on Chinese short video platforms, Kuaishou and Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), in which she unwrapped a 2m-long shark and showed off how long it was by lying next to it.

The shark was then sliced in half, marinated, and barbecued before Jin took a bite of it and shared with her audience how tender the meat was.

She deleted the video after it triggered widespread criticism, and her account was suspended in late July for "violating the rules of the short video platforms", reported Chinese news outlet, Jiemian News.

When interviewed by Hongxing News on Jul. 14, Jin insisted that she purchased the shark through legal channels and that it was a hookteeth shark, which was not endangered.

However, Nanchong police confirmed with Jiemian on Jul. 31 that the shark in Jin's video was a great white shark, and investigations were ongoing.

Investigation findings

In its statement, the Nanchong Administration For Market Regulation said it received the case from its government counterparts in August 2022 alleging that Jin had illegally purchased and consumed a wild animal under state priority conservation.

Investigations revealed that Jin bought the shark at RMB7,700 (S$1,497) via Taobao on Apr. 13, 2022.

On May. 29 and Jun. 2, she took several videos posing with the shark before cooking and eating it.

On Jul. 12, she uploaded the footage of her grilling and consuming the shark to Kuaishou and Douyin, which subsequently went viral over the next two days.

The South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute later confirmed that the shark was a great white shark after conducting DNA barcoding on the remains of the animal.

China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also assessed the value of the shark to be RMB25,000 (S$4,855).

As China classifies great white sharks as wild animals under level-two protection, the second highest protection level in the country, Jin was fined for violating China's Wild Animal Conservation Law.

The seller and the person who caught the shark have also been arrested by local authorities in Fujian province, where the shark was sourced, reported Hongxing News.

Nanchong police told Fengmian that Jin did not receive a criminal charge because she was not aware that the shark was actually a great white shark or that it was wildlife under level-two protection when she made the purchase, according to investigations.

What does the future hold for Jin?

Speaking to Fengmian, Nanchong Administration For Market Regulation said Jin is required to pay the fine within 15 days of receiving the letter of notification.

She has not paid the fine as of Jan. 29, 2023, as the deadline has not been met yet.

Fengmian also contacted Jin via phone and asked what she had been up to since the suspension of her social media accounts.

She replied that she had yet to find a new job and refused to comment further on her future plans.

Top images via Weibo