A Chinese executive has been sentenced to death for fatally poisoning a billionaire producer who worked on the Netflix series 3 Body Problem.
The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court found Xu Yao guilty of fatally poisoning Lin Qi, who founded Yoozoo Games, which owns the rights to all adaptations of the sci-fi novels of the same name by Cixin Liu,
Xu headed up a subsidiary of Yoozoo Games, The Three Body Universe, which was in charge of business related to 3 Body Problem. The former distinguished lawyer reportedly became consumed by jealousy after he was sidelined by Lin after securing the Netflix deal.
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Fuelled with anger, Xu then set up a company in Japan to acquire lethal substances, testing them on animals. He then disguised poisonous substances as probiotic pills and gave them to Lin.
Lin checked himself into hospital after taking the pills but died 10 days later, on Christmas Day 2020, leaving behind a net worth of 6.8 billion yuan ($914 million) at age 39. He is credited as a producer on the series.
Another four people, including Xu’s replacement as head of the subsidiary, also fell sick from drinking poisoned substances at the Yoozoo office but survived.
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Xu was sentenced to capital punishment on 22 March.
3 Body Problem debuted with 11 million views in its first four days and remains one of the streaming giant’s top shows.
In a review, Resonate wrote: 3 Body Problem doesn’t shy away from the mind-bending concepts of Liu’s original work. The series dives into the chaos of a three-body solar system, a setting that presents seemingly insurmountable challenges for humanity. It explores the sociological and philosophical implications of encountering a far more advanced alien civilization, raising questions about trust, cooperation, and survival.
