Former executive given death sentence in poisoning of founder of high-flying Chinese gaming company
A former executive at Yoozoo Games has been sentenced to death in the poisoning of the founder of the high-profile Chinese gaming company
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A former executive at Yoozoo Games was sentenced to death on Friday in the 2020 poisoning of the founder of the high-profile Chinese gaming company, which has links to Game of Thrones and the new Netflix series, “The Three-Body Problem.”
Xu Yao poisoned the food of company founder Lin Qi in December 2020 because of a dispute over the running of the business, the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court said.
Lin, who was 39, died about 10 days later. Police detained Xu a few days after Lin's death.
Four other people were sickened but did not die after Xu poisoned beverages in the office between September and December 2020 because of disputes with two of them, the court said in a statement.
Yoozoo owns the film rights to “The Three-Body Problem,” a best-selling Chinese science fiction trilogy, and Xu headed up a subsidiary in charge of business related to it, according to Chinese media reports.
In September 2020, the company granted Netflix the right to produce an adaptation of the trilogy, Chinese state media reported at the time.
Yoozoo, also known as Youzu Interactive, developed “Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming,” a game based on the TV series.