Chinese Teen Blames WoW After Fight with Classmate Ends in Flames

by Josh Pankratz on December 21, 2007 at 4:52 pm

After losing a fight in school, a 17 year old boy in Beijing covered his classmate with gasoline and lit him on fire. According to Beijing News the teen claimed that he “had lost himself in World of Warcraft” and “transformed into a Fire Mage.”

The Teen has since been sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay the victim and his family 760,000 RMB (about $103,140 USD).

Game|Life’s Earnest Cavalli had the following to say regarding the recent events:

In light of the recent “Mortal Kombat killings,” we’re hesitant to believe the claims of any youth who says they have been influenced by a video game into violence. In this case, though, we believe him simply because China lacks our American legal system that allows people to claim “games made me do it,” and subsequently shift all blame to the game’s creators.

I too am glad to see that this individual is going to be held accountable for his actions. His warped perception of reality caused him to set fire to another human being, and there is no justification for his actions.

Via, Game|Life, Massively, Beijing News