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Online murder, real world consequences

Quote:

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- A 43-year-old Japanese woman whose sudden divorce in a virtual game world made her so angry that she killed her online husband's digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said Thursday.

The woman, who is jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

The woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.

She has not yet been formally charged, but if convicted could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.

Players in "Maple Story" raise and manipulate digital images called "avatars" that represent themselves, while engaging in relationships, social activities and fighting against monsters and other obstacles.

The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.

The woman was arrested Wednesday and was taken across the country, traveling 620 miles from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sapporo, where the man lives, the official said...

Link to full article

What do you think of this story?
Do you feel the woman's detainment is out of line?
Have you heard of things like this happening with any online worlds that you frequent?

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So vindictive! Who would take an online divorce so seriously, really?
Interesting that the woman didn't seem to realize she was doing anything wrong by accessing his account without permission.
Seems like a waste of money and resources to arrest her, but I suppose accessing someone's online account is a bit like forgery.
I hope this serves as a wake-up call.

Sounds like she was arrested for hacking the game and not really for the murder itself. The punishment sounds a little harsh, but then it is Japan, they seem to do that.

i wasn't even aware that you could get married in maple story.... but then again i haven't played in a looooooong time.

/threadjack

prison term of 5 years seems rather harsh.

I assume the penalty for hacking is the same whether it's a bank or MapleStory in Japan. Otherwise this makes little sense.

I hope no one finds our how many Zerglings I've killed in the past 10 years. I could very easily get the death penalty.

This is silly? I can't think of anything clever to say.

They must never ever EVER know about the mass murder committed in Combat Arms...

WILL I forgot about your previous comment in that other game. Care to play a game of SC one day? :D

@Church: Asians think about videogames differently than us. Case in point: South Korea.

Daaaaaaamn.... I've killed thousands of other characters in WoW... :P

This is so unimportant to me that I can't think of anything worth typing beyond this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luciferase75 (Post 2550689)

This is so unimportant to me that I can't think of anything worth typing beyond this.

Awesome.

LOL not trying to be rude, honestly. I probably shouldn't have said anything.

If she was playing his character, wouldn't that make it suicide?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jozrael (Post 2550630)

@Church: Asians think about videogames differently than us. Case in point: South Korea.

In South Korea, they also believe that sleeping with a fan on will kill you.

yet if you're a drug dealer in Canada, it's a slap on the wrist... wtf?