A self-proclaimed magic-man steamed himself to death in Malaysian while trying to ‘cleanse his body and soul’. The 68-year-old medium was performing the human steaming ritual on Monday night when the incident happened. Lim Ba sat on a large wok for around 30 minutes with fire underneath in Nine Emperor God prayer session at a Chinese temple in Kuala Sanglang, Kedah when the incident happened. Devotees removed the cover after they heard knocks from inside the wok. They quickly removed it find him lying unconscious inside. Footage of him convulsing while people try to get him away from the heat was widely shared on social media. Lim Ba who is also known as Black Dog had been steaming himself for 10 years.
By the time the ambulance arrived the self-professed magic man had stopped breathing and was later declared dead. He died from heart failure and massive second-degree burns. Lim Ba’s son Kang Huai said his father had undergone a heart bypass last year and was on medication for hypertension. As per reports, Lim had been performing the stunt for more than 10 years despite objections from family members. According to Star Online, his daughter Wei Ling said that Lim’s longest record for sitting inside the wok was 75 minutes.
Reportedly, Federation of Taoist Associations of Malaysia (FTAM) president Tan Hoe Chioew said the ritual was not a normal Taoist practice. Hoe said that it was more of a theurgy or magic performance. He said, “This ‘steaming man’ ritual is rarely performed, and I dare not comment on what preparations are needed before you perform this. But in general, doing physical endurance stunts is not advisable.”