Man accused of murdering gambling tycoon executed

2026-05-26 16:40:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Chinese authorities have executed a man for the murder of his associate, billionaire gambling tycoon Lin Qi.

In 2020, a disgruntled Xu Yao poisoned Lin because he sidelined her shortly after helping her secure a deal with Netflix, local media reported.

Lin's Yoozoo Games holds the film adaptation rights to the Chinese sci-fi trilogy, which Netflix turned into series 3 of "Body Trouble."

Xu was sentenced in 2024 and his execution, which reportedly took place on May 21, was confirmed on Tuesday by his company in a statement, adding that "justice has finally been served."

"We deeply mourn Mr. Lin and express our sincere 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 The Body Problem is based on the book “Remembering Earth’s Past” by Chinese author Liu Cixin. First published in Chinese, the books have been translated into nearly 30 languages ??and have inspired numerous adaptations.

Netflix's 2024 adaptation quickly became one of the streaming platform's most-watched series. 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 heinous".

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 strategy game Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming.

In 2018, Lin appointed Xu to head Three-Body Universe, a branch to manage projects related to the science fiction franchise.

But they fell apart in 2020 when Lin decided to appoint other executives in charge of business operations, local reports said.

After that, Xu disguised the deadly 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 a net worth of around 6.8 billion yuan (£745 million; $941 million), according to the Hurun China Rich List.

Police arrested Xu a few days after Lin was hospitalized.
In addition to Lin's death, Xu's poisoning plot 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 is late."/CNA, translated by BBC