The court gave Qiu Chengwei a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, yet news reports say that as long as Qiu behaves in the clink his death sentence may be commuted and he may end up serving only 15 years.
Qiu was convicted of killing fellow “Legend of Mir III” gamer Zhu Caoyuan last fall after Qiu loaned Zhu a sword in the game. Zhu turned around and sold the imaginary sword for real money – about $870. After Zhu refused to return the sword or pay up, Qiu arrived on his doorstep and stabbed him in the heart – with a real weapon.
According to the IDG News Service story on the incident, “Online gaming is a high-stakes business in China.” You don’t say?
