There are two parts to this story: poisoning cats and dogs and poisoning a human. I’m going to report the story and comment. What I say here is based on reports on the Internet.
In essence, a former executive Xu Yao of Yoozoo Games allegedly decided to kill his boss by poisoning due to a “dispute over running the business”. That comes from a statement by Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court as stated by the Associated Press. Xu was an executive on Netflix’s ‘3 Body Problem’ series which I have just watched. Not bad would be my assessment of it. But not great. It is about aliens invading planet Earth.
Xu was demoted and received a pay cut because of his poor performance according to the Caixin report cited by The Times. Caixin Media is a Chinese media group based in Beijing known for business and investigative journalism.
In essence, Xu plotted retaliation by murdering his boss. It’s reported that he built a laboratory near Shanghai in which he experimented with hundreds of poisons acquired from the dark web (the fictional picture above depicts it). It is further reported that he tested these poisons on domestic animals including cats and dogs.
It is said that Xu was inspired by the series “Breaking Bad”. This is a story about a high school teacher who gets involved in high crimes churning out drugs and selling them.
Allegedly Xu poison four other employees but they did not die. He poisoned their beverages in the office between September and December 2020 because of his grievances. One of the survivors is Zhao Jilong, a vice president of the company’s film division according to a report by Variety.
Poisoning cats and dogs
Below are some more details on this. The story about this man poisoning cats and dogs in testing his poisons is badly reported. Bing’s artificial intelligence assistant (copilot) could not find reference to the poisoning of cats and dogs (see below). I’m taking the information about this from Business Insider.
If it’s true then it would not surprise me because cats and dogs are very vulnerable to criminal behaviour particularly poisoning. It happens all over the world all the time. Cats particularly are very vulnerable because they are simply there in the street where they can be picked up and stolen.
In short, it’s an example of the vulnerability of indoor/outdoor cats and community cats to criminal behaviour which harms the cats.
Xu Yao has received a death sentence for the murder of his boss Lin Qi who died in 2020 after ingesting poison.
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The report below comes from Bing’s copilot (AI) for completeness
Xu Yao, a former executive at Yoozoo Games, has been sentenced to death for poisoning and murdering the company’s founder, Lin Qi. The sentencing happened on 22nd March 2024, in connection with the case in December 2020.
Here are the details:
- Incident: Xu Yao poisoned Lin Qi’s food in December 2020 because they disagreed over how to run the business.
- Outcome: Mr. Lin, aged 39, died about 10 days later, and police arrested Xu.
- Additional Poisonings: Xu had also poisoned drinks in the office between September and December that year, targeting two colleagues with whom he had differences. Fortunately, they recovered, as did two other employees who consumed the drinks.
- Court Verdict: The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court found Xu’s actions to be premeditated and endangering public safety. The court stated that Xu’s motive was “extremely despicable,” the means of the crime “extremely malicious,” and the harmful consequences “extremely serious.”
- Appeal Rights: Under Chinese law, Xu has the right to appeal, which would lead to a second and final hearing.
Lin Qi, the chairman and chief executive of Yoozoo Games, founded the company in 2009. He was one of China’s richest entrepreneurs, with a net worth of around 6.8 billion yuan (£745 million) when he died. Yoozoo Games developed Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming, a game based on the popular TV series. The company also owns film rights to The Three-Body Problem, a best-selling Chinese science fiction trilogy.
In this tragic case, Xu Yao’s actions had severe consequences, leading to the loss of life and legal repercussions. It serves as a reminder of the importance of ethical conduct and conflict resolution in the workplace.
Did Xu Yao test his poison on cats and dogs before poisoning his boss?
There is no information available regarding whether Xu Yao tested his poison on cats and dogs before poisoning his boss, Lin Qi. The details provided in the case focus on the poisoning incidents involving his colleagues and Mr. Lin. Unfortunately, there is no specific mention of animal testing in this context. Comment: this is incorrect as there is a report on this from Caixin Media.
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