READ THIS!!! - Real-life murder in online gaming dispute

[Mr.Faxanadu]

I've never heard of anything like this



Real-life murder in online gaming dispute
Last Updated Wed, 08 Jun 2005 09:31:51 EDT
CBC News

A court in China has sentenced an online gamer to death for the real-life murder of a fellow player after a confrontation over a virtual weapon.

The dispute involved the ownership of a "dragon sabre" in the fantasy game Legend of Mir III.

A court in Shanghai found Qiu Chengwei, 41, guilty of stabbing to death Zhu Caoyuan.

Tens of millions of Chinese play online games, which are often violent.

Zhu sold the virtual sabre used in the online game after Qiu had only lent it to him.

Qiu reported the loss to police in February, but they said the computer sabre wasn't a real thing protected by law.

He then demanded the money Zhu had earned from the sale, 7,200 yuan, or about $1,000, but couldn't wait for payment. He attacked Zhu in his home, stabbing him repeatedly in an early morning assault.

Qiu turned himself in to police, saying he did not intend to kill Zhu.

But Zhu's family wants Qiu to receive the full weight of the law, and plans to appeal the suspended sentence.

"We want Qiu to die, and immediately," the victim's father said.

[Sylentwulf]

Old news story, on the boards somewhere, nice to see the update for the sentancing though.

[Mr.Faxanadu]

Sorry.... man CBC has got to get their act together.

This is front page news just now !

[Sylentwulf]

Well, as I said, the sentancing part is new news. But the original story is a month or 2 past.

[TougherToast]

Crazy stuff, people take online gaming way too seriously. I mean to kill someone over something that doesn’t really exist

I remember a story I read a couple of years back about a guy in Korea who played online for like three days strait, never leaving to eat or go to the bathroom. They ended up finding him dead at his computer. Not really sure if this is true or not but I wouldn’t doubt it. Anyone remember this or read about this?

[QBert]

Crazy stuff, people take online gaming way too seriously. I mean to kill someone over something that doesn’t really exist

I remember a story I read a couple of years back about a guy in Korea who played online for like three days strait, never leaving to eat or go to the bathroom. They ended up finding him dead at his computer. Not really sure if this is true or not but I wouldn’t doubt it. Anyone remember this or read about this?

I recall that...>Everquest was the culprit I believe.

[Nirvana]

Wow, that's awful. I heard about the story, but I didn't think it was true. Thanks for the confirmation.

[Moon Patrol]

This is why games like WoW and Star Wars Galaxies need to have certain limits, people take it WAY too seriously. I know several people who base their life around these games, its scary and sad to know that. All I can say is, get outside every now and then.

[Jorpho]

Meanwhile, Jack Thompson is researching how foreign trials can be used as legal precedents. (Or so I imagine.)

[pragmatic insanester]

wow. i wonder if the sword that was sold is worth more to all the gorehounds that play the game. i wouldn't know if you would be able to prove it was the -exact- item that caused the murders.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

I'd rather get the death penalty then spend time in a Chinese prison. Hellholes, they is.

[boozi2]

WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! I mean, COME ON! It's just a game! AHHH..... But that dude shouldn't have sold the sabre... look what happened

[DJ_DEEM]

if there is one thing we can all learn from this horrible story its that you dont mess with another mans dragon sabre

[vincewy]

Onlin gmaing addiction is plaguing all over Asia, I'm not surprised that one dispute ends up murder. When I was in Taiwan, kids skip school or even run away from home to play online games. Quite a few ocassions I saw fights breaking out in cyber cafes just because one player is kicking someone else's @$$.