China executes man for murdering prominent gaming tycoon

The court said the man poisoned the tycoon for sidelining him after he helped secure a deal with Netflix for the 3 Body Problem. China executes man for murdering prominent gaming tycoon Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Former lawyer Xu Yao was sentenced to death in 2024 for the murder of gaming tycoon Lin Qi Xu Yao in a white jacket in court, surrounded by guards Chinese authorities have executed a man for murdering his associate, billionaire gaming tycoon Lin Qi. In 2020, a disgruntled Xu Yao poisoned Lin for sidelining him shortly after he helped him land a Netflix deal, local media reported. Lin's Yoozoo Games holds the film adaptation rights for the Chinese science fiction trilogy which Netflix made into the series 3 Body Problem. Xu was convicted in 2024 and his execution, which reportedly happened on 21 May, was confirmed on Tuesday by his company in a statement, adding "justice has ultimately been served". "We deeply mourn Mr. Lin and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family," the statement said. "As colleagues who fought alongside him, all members of the company are grateful for the impartiality of the judicial process." The science fiction trilogy 3 Body Problem is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past. First published in Chinese, the books have been translated into nearly 30 languages and inspired multiple adaptations. The Netflix adaptation in 2024, quickly became one of the streaming platform's most-watched shows. Lin was posthumously credited as one of its executive producers. That same year, Xu was convicted of Lin's murder, with the court describing his plot as "extremely despicable". Lin's death came as a shock to the gaming industry in China and beyond. Lin is the founder of Yoozoo Games, the Shanghai-based developer best known for the Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming strategy game. In 2018, Lin appointed Xu to lead Three-Body Universe, a subsidiary to manage projects related to the science fiction franchise. But they fell out in 2020 when Lin decided to put other executives in charge of business operations, local reports said. After that, Xu disguised lethal substances as probiotic pills and gave them to Lin. In December 2020, Lin went to the hospital after feeling unwell. He died nine days later, at the age of 39. At the time, he was believed to have had a net worth of around 6.8 billion yuan (£745m; $941m), according to the Hurun China Rich List. Police arrested Xu days after Lin was hospitalised. Besides Lin's death, Xu's poisoning plot also left several others sick. Chinese newspaper Economic Observer reported on Tuesday that one of Xu's victims had written on social media: "Justice comes in the end, even if it's late". The driver and passengers of the car managed to escape before the bridge gave way in Xiaogan. At least 82 people have been killed and two are missing after a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China on Sunday, officials say. On China's tightly-controlled internet, people are calling for justice and questioning how this happened. The British-era Gymkhana Club is facing eviction, triggering a legal battle and a wave of nostalgia. A team of experts who helped free a teen football team from a Thai cave in 2018 are among the rescuers. The BBC's Sumedha Pal described how difficult it was to be standing in the streets of Delhi as temperatures rose to 45C . The 43-year-old police officer and mother of three serves as the team's payload scientist. India Inc spent $18bn on global buyouts in 2025 and the deal value could cross $15bn in the first half of 2026.