Oh man, this is sick.

A Shanghai online gamer, Qui Chengwei, has been given a suspended death sentence for killing a fellow gamer, Zhu Caoyuan. Qui stabbed Zhu in the chest when he found out he had sold his virtual sword for 7,200 Yuan (around RM3,300). The sword, which Mr Qui had lent to Mr Zhu, was won in the popular online game Legend of Mir 3.

In this case, Mr Zhu did offer to hand over the cash but Mr Qui lost patience and stabbed him with “great force” according to media reports.

The suspended sentence given to Qui means he could spend the rest of his life behind bars, although it could be reduced to 15 years for good behaviour. But Zhu’s father, Zhu Huimin, didn’t think so, he wants Qui to die, and immediately.

The case has led to a debate about where the law stands on virtual property, such as the dragon sabre owned by Qiu because currently China has no laws to deal with the theft of virtual property.

Following the case, associate law professor at Beijing’s Renmin University of China said that such weapons should be deemed as private property because players “have to spend time and money for them”.

But a lawyer for one Shanghai-based internet game company told a Chinese newspaper that the weapons were in fact just data created by games providers and therefore not the property of gamers.

What a sad incident. Can’t we differentiate what is really real, and what’s totally not? HmMmmm…. Apparently some can’t, especially when there is blood rushing to the head.