Xu Yao sentenced to death for poisoning game firm chairman

Xu Yao, who was found guilty of the fatal poisoning of the former chairman of the Shanghai-listed Yoozoo in 2020, has been sentenced to death, a Shanghai-based court said on Friday.

Lin Qi, 39, chairman and founder of Yoozoo Games, died in December 2020 after allegedly being poisoned by his colleague Xu, who was detained by the police soon after. The case shocked the gaming industry and the public.

In the case of the defendant Xu's intentional homicide and the release of dangerous substances, he was sentenced to death and deprivation of political rights for life for the crime of intentional homicide, according to the Shanghai First Indeterminate People's Court.

Xu poisoned Lin and several other colleagues because of "company management matters," the court said.

It is not clear whether Xu, formerly Youzoo's chief risk control officer, would appeal.

Shanghai-based Yoozoo declined to comment on the case.

The sentence was fair and would console Lin's soul, Chen Yulin, a veteran gaming executive, said on his Weichat account on Friday.