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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 05/19/2006 : 23:58:50
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BBC News has this item:quote:
Chinese gamer sentenced to life
A Shanghai online gamer has been given a suspended death sentence for killing a fellow gamer.
Qiu Chengwei stabbed Zhu Caoyuan in the chest when he found out he had sold his virtual sword for 7,200 Yuan (£473).
The sword, which Mr Qiu had lent to Mr Zhu, was won in the popular online game Legend of Mir 3.
Attempts to take the dispute to the police failed because there is currently no law in China to protect virtual property.
Appeal plea
Buying and selling gaming artefacts such as imaginary weapons is a booming business on the web.
The internet games section of Ebay saw more than $9m (£5m) in trades in 2003.
While China has no laws to deal with the theft of virtual property, South Korea has a section of its police force that investigates in-game crime.
Dragon sabre
According to the Chinese press, more and more gamers are seeking justice through the courts over stolen weapons and credits accumulated in games.
In this case, Mr Zhu did offer to hand over the cash but Mr Qiu lost patience and stabbed him with "great force" according to media reports.
The suspended sentence given to Qiu means he could spend the rest of his life behind bars, although it could be reduced to 15 years for good behaviour.
The parents of the dead man are planning to appeal against the sentence.
"My son was only 26 when he died. He was sleeping when Qiu broke into his home. He was barely able to put his pants on before Qiu stabbed him," said his father, Zhu Huimin.
"We want Qiu to die, and immediately," he added.
The case has led to a debate about where the law stands on virtual property, such as the dragon sabre owned by Qiu.
Following the case, associate law professor at Beijing's Renmin University of China said that such weapons should be deemed as private property because players "have to spend time and money for them".
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Original_Intent
SFN Regular
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2006 : 15:33:14 [Permalink]
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Man, I wish I could find the article on the IRS wanting threr share of the virtual marketplace.....
Joe |
The Circus of Carnage... because you should be able to deal with politicians like you do pissant noobs. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2006 : 16:03:57 [Permalink]
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Told ya my son sold his character for $720 on Ebay. People in China (and elsewhere I assume) pay folks to game all day and build up characters to sell.
And when my son was ripped off for game valuables several times over the years, he was in tears about it. (When he was younger anyway.)
The game owners can stop it. People get banned for doing it.
Doesn't surprise me people would be mad enough to shoot. Stupid, but not surprising. |
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JohnOAS
SFN Regular
Australia
800 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2006 : 18:31:37 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by beskeptigal
And when my son was ripped off for game valuables several times over the years, he was in tears about it. (When he was younger anyway.)
The game owners can stop it. People get banned for doing it.
Doesn't surprise me people would be mad enough to shoot. Stupid, but not surprising.
Back high school, I was GMing a game for some friends who got upset when a couple of characters stole another's spell book while he slept. There were no stabbings, but someone's bicycle got dismantled and the parts distibuted around my and my neighbours front yards. Some of my friends still take their gaming a little too seriously.
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John's just this guy, you know. |
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