Shanghai Man Sentenced to Death
Matthew Cole
June 11, 2005
A Shanghai man, Qiu Chengwei, 41, an online game player has been convicted of stabbing fellow online gamer and competitor, Zhu Caoyuan, to death. Qiu stabbed Zhu after Zhu had sold his “dragon sabre”, a virtual weapon used in the popular online game Legend of Mir 3. This created a serious dilemma for Chinese officials, as there are no laws for the ownership of virtual weapons.
Legend of Mir 3 features heroes and villains, sorcerers and warriors, many of who wield enormous swords. On a website for the online game, www.mir3europe.com, it has posted to get people to join, “Think you have what it takes to be a famous hero in the realms of Mir, or is it the path of the villainous murderer you prefer. Join these dedicated heroes and villains in the world of Mir.” Qiu Chengwei, according to his conviction, chose the path of villainous murderer.
The official website of the online game, www.legendofmir.net, has this to say about its game, “The Legend of Mir is a massive online multiplayer role-playing game based in a mysterious Oriental-style world. In The Legend of Mir you can be a powerful warrior and develop your ability in close combat, a skilled wizard with a whole set of spells or a mystic Taoist provided with inner spirituals powers. Thousands of users can play together in the challenging world of Mir, which allows you to access numerous levels as you become stronger, to explore dangerous dungeons and fantastic cities and to create powerful guilds.
Qiu has been sentenced to death in the case. According to the official newspaper, China Daily, Shanghai Number 2 Intermediate People’s Court gave the online game player the death sentence with a two-year reprieve. The actual murder took place last October.
Qiu can have his sentence commuted to life imprisonment if he is found to not have committed any other crimes and he behaves in prison. In actuality, Qiu may only end up serving 15 years, the China Daily reported.
The case originated after the two jointly won their weapon in February of 2004. Qiu went to the police after he had loaned the weapon to Zhu who in turn sold it for 7200 Yuan. Qiu was told the weapon was not real and therefore was not protected by Chinese law. China Daily reports that then Zhu promised to hand over the money but an angry Qiu lost his temper and patience stabbing Zhu repeatedly to death.
Online gaming is a high-stakes business in China, and is set to grow further over the next five years, according to China Daily researchers. Around 20.3 million Chinese played online games last year, spending $298 million to do so.
More and more online gamers were seeking justice through the courts over stolen weapons and credits, the newspaper said. The armor and swords in games should be deemed as private property as players have to spend money and time for them," Wang Zongyu, an associate law professor at Beijing's Renmin University of China, was quoted as saying.
But other experts are calling for caution. "The 'assets' of one player could mean nothing to others as they are by nature just data created by game providers," a lawyer for a Shanghai-based Internet game company was quoted as saying.
The future of online gamers trading virtual items for real life money is not too far in the future, observers say.
Legend of Mir 3 features heroes and villains, sorcerers and warriors, many of who wield enormous swords. On a website for the online game, www.mir3europe.com, it has posted to get people to join, “Think you have what it takes to be a famous hero in the realms of Mir, or is it the path of the villainous murderer you prefer. Join these dedicated heroes and villains in the world of Mir.” Qiu Chengwei, according to his conviction, chose the path of villainous murderer.
The official website of the online game, www.legendofmir.net, has this to say about its game, “The Legend of Mir is a massive online multiplayer role-playing game based in a mysterious Oriental-style world. In The Legend of Mir you can be a powerful warrior and develop your ability in close combat, a skilled wizard with a whole set of spells or a mystic Taoist provided with inner spirituals powers. Thousands of users can play together in the challenging world of Mir, which allows you to access numerous levels as you become stronger, to explore dangerous dungeons and fantastic cities and to create powerful guilds.
Qiu has been sentenced to death in the case. According to the official newspaper, China Daily, Shanghai Number 2 Intermediate People’s Court gave the online game player the death sentence with a two-year reprieve. The actual murder took place last October.
Qiu can have his sentence commuted to life imprisonment if he is found to not have committed any other crimes and he behaves in prison. In actuality, Qiu may only end up serving 15 years, the China Daily reported.
The case originated after the two jointly won their weapon in February of 2004. Qiu went to the police after he had loaned the weapon to Zhu who in turn sold it for 7200 Yuan. Qiu was told the weapon was not real and therefore was not protected by Chinese law. China Daily reports that then Zhu promised to hand over the money but an angry Qiu lost his temper and patience stabbing Zhu repeatedly to death.
Online gaming is a high-stakes business in China, and is set to grow further over the next five years, according to China Daily researchers. Around 20.3 million Chinese played online games last year, spending $298 million to do so.
More and more online gamers were seeking justice through the courts over stolen weapons and credits, the newspaper said. The armor and swords in games should be deemed as private property as players have to spend money and time for them," Wang Zongyu, an associate law professor at Beijing's Renmin University of China, was quoted as saying.
But other experts are calling for caution. "The 'assets' of one player could mean nothing to others as they are by nature just data created by game providers," a lawyer for a Shanghai-based Internet game company was quoted as saying.
The future of online gamers trading virtual items for real life money is not too far in the future, observers say.
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