A Shanghai online gamer has been given a suspended death sentence for
killing a fellow gamer.
Qui 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 Qui 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 Qui lost
patience and stabbed him with "great force" according to media
reports.
The suspended sentence given to Qui 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 Qui 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".
But a lawyer for one Shanghai-based internet game company told a
Chinese newspaper that the weapons were in fact just data created by
games providers and therefore not the property of gamers.
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* Origin: [adminz] tech, security, support (192:168/0.2)
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