The new series The Three Body Problem continues to be mired in controversy. According to a new report, now a former executive at Yoozoo Games named Xu Yao has been sentenced to death for murdering Lin Qi, the founder of the high-profile Chinese gaming company. This company owns the film rights of the text The Three Body Problem, which released in Netflix this month. (Also read: Why Chinese viewers are objecting to Netflix adaptation of 3 Body Problem)
Court details about food poisoning
In December 2020, Xu Yao poisoned the food of company founder Lin Qi because there was a dispute over the running of the business, as per the statement of the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court. Lin, who was 39 at that time, died about 10 days later. Xu was detained a few days after Lin’s death.
The court also said in a statement that four other people were sickened but did not die after Xu poisoned the beverages in the office. This occurred between September and December 2020 because of disputes with the two of them.
More details
Yoozoo owns the film rights to The Three Body Problem, which is a best-selling Chinese science fiction trilogy. According to Chinese media reports, Xu was heading a subsidiary in charge of business related to it.
In September 2020, the company granted Netflix the right to produce an adaptation of the trilogy, Chinese state media reported at that time. Also known as Youzu Interactive, Yoozoo developed Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming, a game based on the hit TV series.
The Three Body Problem was translated into English in 2012 and became an instant hit. It became the first Asian novel ever to win a Hugo Award for best novel. The new Netflix series which released on March 21, has an ensemble cast of Sea Shimooka, Benedict Wong, Tsai Chin, John Bradley, Eiza Gonzalez, Liam Cunningham, Jess Hong and Jovan Adepo.