Seven-Year-Old Girl Murdered for Videogame Money

[Barbalute]

Seven-Year-Old Girl Murdered for Videogame Money

A 15-year-old purportedly confessed to murdering the girl to sell her earrings for money to buy time at a local internet cafe.

Mong The Xuong, a 15-year-old from Vietnam, killed seven-year-old Anh Nhu by beating her to death with a rock. Purportedly, he confessed to doing so in order to sell her earrings for money to play popular MMO Vo Lam Truyen Ky (Swordsman Online) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VinaGame#VNG_Games] at a local internet cafe he frequented. He later cut the earrings up and hid them under his bed.

Elizabeth Woolley, who founded gaming addiction help group Online Gamers Anonymous [http://www.olganon.org/] after her son committed suicide due to videogame addiction, is claiming it's time governments regulated excessive videogame use.

"It's exactly like drugs or alcohol - once people get addicted, they feel they have to have it. There are always certain people who will get addicted to a drug, and in gaming we estimate it's about 20% to 30% of people," claimed Woolley.

A spokesman for the Association of UK Interactive Entertainment responded, saying that "[t]here is currently no proven link between video games and addiction, with there being mixed opinion among academics about whether a game can be clinically addictive. [...]

"UKIE is aware of some individuals that play games excessively but often the causes of many of the unfortunate cases that we hear about are down to other underlying medical, social or environmental issues concerning the individuals concerned."

Source: Yahoo! News UK [http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Mong-The-Xuong-Allegedly-Killed-A-Seven-Year-Old-Girl-For-Her-Earrings-To-Feed-His-Online-Game-Habit/Article/201106116006093?lpos=World_News_Third_Home_Page_Article_Teaser_Region__1&lid=ARTICLE_16006093_Mong_The_Xuong_Allegedly_Killed_A_Seven-Year-Old_Girl_For_Her_Earrings_To_Feed_His_Online_Game_Habit]

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[tahrey]

Dunno about you, but I've never been desperate enough for anything (not covered by food/shelter) to turn to crime, much less the murder of a young child, even during periods of serious belt tightening. The kid's obviously got serious issues...

 

[McMullen]

Beating someone to death for time in an online game is not a sign of addiction. It's a sign of being incredibly, dangerously fucked in the head!

This kid is a goddamned sociopath, or something similar to it.

 

[KishinZero]

"It's exactly like drugs or alcohol - once people get addicted, they feel they have to have it. There are always certain people who will get addicted to a drug, and in gaming we estimate it's about 20% to 30% of people," claimed Woolley.

I would very much like to know where he got this information. Maybe then I'll believe him. Also please keep this away from Fox and the Daily Mail. I can only imagine...

 

[Shio]

Well, if this story is true I can't imagine the pain the little girl's parents are enduring. God knows how they will get through it. I think I'd give up on life if it were my daughter.

And beaten to death with a rock? Christ. Of all the ways...

 

[Strain42]

I need to stop reading these new articles here, they always remind me just how low humanity can seek.

Every now and then there are some uplifting ones like when the internet rallied in support to help that little girl who got teased over liking star wars but this is...

wow...

 

[TimeLord]

It's very easy to blame the games. But what about the kids parents? His upbringing? His environment he lives in? Or the mental state of the kid himself?

This story would end exactly the same if he was addicted to Skittles and wanted money to buy Skittles.

 

[attackshark]

the woman is letting her grief cloud her judgment. though in 'Nam, she can probably get that sort of law passed if she scares officials enough.

 

[TheEverix]

"It's exactly like drugs or alcohol - once people get addicted, they feel they have to have it. There are always certain people who will get addicted to a drug, and in gaming we estimate it's about 20% to 30% of people," claimed Woolley.

I would very much like to know where he got this information. Maybe then I'll believe him. Also please keep this away from Fox and the Daily Mail. I can only imagine...

They "estimated", meaning "it sounds like a good number". Typical fear-mongering.

 

[Sticky Squid]

How can you get addicted to video games? I just find the idea ridiculous.

 

[GhostPhantasm]

The girls parents should be allowed to make him watch as they destroy his account, then beat him with a rock and take his stuff for funeral money

 

[Shio]

It's very easy to blame the games. But what about the kids parents? His upbringing? His environment he lives in? Or the mental state of the kid himself?

This story would end exactly the same if he was addicted to Skittles and wanted money to buy Skittles.

I'll voice their (in my eyes, incorrect) opinion here for the sake of the conversation and debate: but video games are more addictive than Skittles and video games teach children to be violent.

I need to stop reading these new articles here, they always remind me just how low humanity can seek.

Every now and then there are some uplifting ones like when the internet rallied in support to help that little girl who got teased over liking star wars but this is...

wow...

Mmm. I'm far from a bleeding heart (I'm pretty cold) but christ is this messed up. Did he really need to beat her to death? If you really are messed up and feel the need to steal, just steal. Sure, it's wrong and you're a bad person, but c'mon! She was seven! You not only stole from her, you killed her!

There are no words...

And now the little girl's family has her picture all over the world news and everyone is talking about how their daughter had her skull caved in...

Life can just... suck.

 

[linkvegeta]

Monthly subscription fees are murder...... literally.

 

[Geeky Anomaly]

It always drives me nuts when these groups or organizations are headed/founded by someone who has a personal beef. Yes, her son committed suicide, that's sad...but then she takes the pain of her son's suicide and lashes out on the world by trying to make us gamers suffer. Government regulated gaming is a VERY dangerous notion...it would be no different than regulated TV watching, radio listening, etc.

These people lose all touch with reality and common sense when they lose a loved one because life is unfair. You see this all the time...someone loses a spouse/child to a shooting, and they start some crusade to OUTLAW ALL GUNS in their country. I'm surprised this woman didn't also try to outlaw Internet Cafes and rocks while she was at it.

 

[Jonathan Bradford]

Parents, where are they? Oh that's right, playing StarCraft II.

On a more serious tangent I really dislike the use of statistics without sources, especially when those stats are against one of my favorite past times.

 

[Bouncing Ferret FIlm]

Maybe it isn't cuz video games are or aren't addictive... maybe the people are just FUCKED up. You have to be off in some way before this in order for you to do something this violent in the first place... or to think its okay.

I say as always, where are the parents. Do you honestly think MY parents would have let me played for as long as kids get away with now.. HELLS to the no... but that's because they were involved in my life.

 

[Formica Archonis]

Mong The Xuong, a 15-year-old from Vietnam, killed seven-year-old Anh Nhu by beating her to death with a rock.

Damn, that's just fucked up. You know how LONG it would take to beat someone to death with a rock? It won't happen on the first or second hit. Kid ain't wired right.

Elizabeth Woolley, who founded gaming addiction help group Online Gamers Anonymous [http://www.olganon.org/] after her son committed suicide due to videogame addiction, is claiming it's time governments regulated excessive videogame use.

And here we have it. The Pat Pulling [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Pulling] of the video game generation.

"It's exactly like drugs or alcohol - once people get addicted, they feel they have to have it. There are always certain people who will get addicted to a drug,

Gee, you think? It's called an addictive personality [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addictive_personality] and the thing addicted to doesn't really matter. To quote: "They are frequently connected with substance abuse, but people with addictive personalities are also highly at risk of becoming addicted to gambling, food, pornography, exercise, work, and even relationships."

So let's ban food and exercise!

and in gaming we estimate it's about 20% to 30% of people," claimed Woolley.

"We"? Who's "we"? And about a quarter of people who play video games get hooked? Do they realize HOW MANY PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE?

The real news item: "Teenager murders little kid for money so he could buy something he wanted."