[photopress:legendofmir.jpg,full,alignright]It was a virtual knife but a very real murder that resulted in a suspended death sentence but a very real chance of life in prison. A Chinese gamer, Qiu Chengwei stabbed Zhu Caoyuan in the chest when he found out he had sold his virtual sword for RMB7,200 ($911).
The sword, which Qiu Chengwei had lent to Zhu Caoyuan, was won in the popular online game Legend of Mir 3. One of the characters is seen here.
The police could not interfere in the apparent theft because there is currently no law in China to protect virtual property. In this case, Zhu Caoyuan did offer to hand over the cash but Qiu Chengwei lost patience and, according to media reports, stabbed him with ‘great force.’
Now Qiu Chengwei has been given the death sentence with a two-year reprieve yesterday at Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People’s Court. Qiu Chengwei’s death penalty will be commuted to life in prison if he behaves well in jail, and no other crimes relating to him are uncovered. He will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars, although it could be reduced to 15 years for good behaviour.
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.
Source: China Daily