Chinese don't believe WoW kid's arson defence
WoW does not make you a Fire Mage
By Nick Farrell: Monday, 24 December 2007, 9:07 AM


CHINESE authorities did not buy a 17 year-old kid's excuse that playing World of Warcraft led him to set fire to another bloke.

The teen lost a schoolyard fight. Five days later he covered a classmate with gasoline and lit a match. He told coppers that he "had lost himself in World of Warcraft" and when he committed the crime and had transformed into a "Fire Mage ".

We think he had been reading too many US court cases. In the US, the game's creator Blizzard would have been in court alongside him, but in China they actually took a look at the evidence.

The kid bought the petrol five days before the event. He got a mate to lure the victim outside and poured the petrol over him using a water bottle and set him on fire. The victim ended up with burns on half of his body and third-degree burns on 38 per cent of his body.

The Court thought that if he had been under the influence of any game he would have just turned himself into a fireball for the fight. He would not have waited five days or buy petrol nor need an accomplice.

The boy has been sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay the victim and his family a restitution of $103,140. His accomplice, who lured the boy outside, was sentenced to seven years porridge.


Source: http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/12/24/chinese-believe-wow-kid-defence