Shanghai police say they have detained a suspect in the case of death by possibly poisoning the billionaire founder of a Chinese video game company that makes films based on the popular science fiction novel ‘The Three-Body Problem’. Lin Qi, 39, died on Christmas Day after being admitted to hospital, according to his company, Yoozoo Games Co., also known as Youzu Interactive.
According to a police statement, a 39-year-old colleague, identified only by that of Xu, was detained. The statement said the victim was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 17 and possibly diagnosed with poisoning, but gave no other details. The Hollywood Reporter, referring to local media, reports Lin is allegedly ill by a cup of poisoned pu-erh tea.
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An employee who answered the phone at the Shanghai police press office on Monday said there was no additional information available.
Business magazine Caixin, citing unknown sources in the industry, said the suspect is an employee of Yoozoo’s film department and is working on ‘The Three-Body Problem’. The novel is currently being adapted as a Netflix series produced by creators David Benioff and DB Weiss of the Game of Thrones creators. Lin is listed as the executive producer in the range.
Yoozoo is also known for his game “Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming.”
Lin was number 870 among the richest entrepreneurs in China with a net worth of 6.8 billion yuan ($ 1 billion), according to Hurun report, which follows the rich of China.