I
imported_Edward The Less
Guest
A 17 year old Beijing boy had a fight with a classmate and lost. He took revenge a few days later by dumping a water bottle full of gasoline onto the classmate and lighting him on fire. The victim ended up with burns on 55% of his body, including third-degree burns on 38% of his body.
The perpetrator claimed he had lost himself in World of Warcraft and when he committed the crime he had transformed into a Fire Mage.
He was sentenced to 8 years in jail, an accomplice received 7 years, and he and the accomplice and their families were ordered to pay 760,000 RMB ($103,140 USD) in restitution to the victim.
It is a very sad story. Both the victim and perpetrator are not from affluent families, are not particularly well-educated, and didn't appear to have great prospects in Chinese society. World of Warcraft, operated by The9 (Nasdaq:NCTY) in China, and other MMOs are a great escape, as is obvious from the tens of millions of Chinese playing in these virtual worlds.
Good thing for Blizzard and The9 that China's legal system is still developing. If this happened in the US no doubt the victim's family would hire an ambulance chasing lawyer to sue Blizzard for millions, claiming that somehow Blizzard, rather than the parents, was negligent.
The perpetrator claimed he had lost himself in World of Warcraft and when he committed the crime he had transformed into a Fire Mage.
He was sentenced to 8 years in jail, an accomplice received 7 years, and he and the accomplice and their families were ordered to pay 760,000 RMB ($103,140 USD) in restitution to the victim.
It is a very sad story. Both the victim and perpetrator are not from affluent families, are not particularly well-educated, and didn't appear to have great prospects in Chinese society. World of Warcraft, operated by The9 (Nasdaq:NCTY) in China, and other MMOs are a great escape, as is obvious from the tens of millions of Chinese playing in these virtual worlds.
Good thing for Blizzard and The9 that China's legal system is still developing. If this happened in the US no doubt the victim's family would hire an ambulance chasing lawyer to sue Blizzard for millions, claiming that somehow Blizzard, rather than the parents, was negligent.