BEIJING - Prosecutors in China have brought criminal charges against a 59-year-old man who strapped on firecrackers and doused himself with petrol to defy a ban on public gatherings during a coronavirus epidemic, the Xinhua news agency said.

The resident of the south-western city of Chongqing had planned a birthday banquet of more than 10 tables of guests on Jan 28, the state-run agency said on Wednesday (Feb 12), but local officials battling the outbreak asked him to cancel it.