Thailand Halts Grand Theft Auto Sales After Murder

[The Vulcan]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080804/tc_nm/...andtheftauto_dc

[cloudhopper]

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai video game distributor halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto" on Monday after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the controversial game.

"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media, told Reuters.

"We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service," Sakchai said. An 18-year-old high school student, now in custody pending further investigations and a trial, faces death by lethal injection if found guilty of robbing and killing a 54-year-old taxi driver with a knife at the weekend.

Police said the youth, an obsessive player of "Grand Theft Auto," showed no sign of mental problems during questioning and had confessed to committing the crime because of the game.

"He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak told Reuters.

The youth, described by his parents as polite and diligent, was arrested late on Saturday after he was found trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the severely wounded driver in the back seat, newspapers reported.

The suspect told police he did not mean to kill the driver, whom he had chosen as a possible victim because of his age, but that he stabbed him to death when he fought back, newspapers reported.

"Grand Theft Auto," now available in its fourth edition, has been criticized for depicting violence including beatings, carjackings, drive-by shootings, drunk driving and prostitution.

A senior official at Thailand's Culture Ministry said the murder was a wake-up call for authorities to tackle the issue of violent video games, and urged parents to pay closer attention to what their children played.

"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, told Reuters. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

The ministry has been pushing for tougher regulation of video games such as Grand Theft Auto, including the imposition of a rating system on sales and restriction on hours that youngsters can play the games in public arcades.

A multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed in the U.S. state of Alabama against the makers and marketers of Grand Theft Auto in 2005, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager to kill two police officers and a 911 dispatcher.

The blockbuster Grand Theft Auto games are published by Nasdaq-listed Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO.O).

(Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Ed Cropley)

[TopDogger]

Glad I got a copy last week...

[Plus]

Yeah, it's all over the news today.

So far people here didn't worry about violence in computer games, things will change now, somewhat.

[TopDogger]

Time for a crackdown methinks...

[MonkeyHouse]

Found this on Yahoo, didn't see it on TV yet. A prelude of things to come?

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai video game distributor halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto" on Monday after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the controversial game.

"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media, told Reuters.

"We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service," Sakchai said. An 18-year-old high school student, now in custody pending further investigations and a trial, faces death by lethal injection if found guilty of robbing and killing a 54-year-old taxi driver with a knife at the weekend.

Police said the youth, an obsessive player of "Grand Theft Auto," showed no sign of mental problems during questioning and had confessed to committing the crime because of the game.

"He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak told Reuters.

The youth, described by his parents as polite and diligent, was arrested late on Saturday after he was found trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the severely wounded driver in the back seat, newspapers reported.

The suspect told police he did not mean to kill the driver, whom he had chosen as a possible victim because of his age, but that he stabbed him to death when he fought back, newspapers reported.

"Grand Theft Auto," now available in its fourth edition, has been criticized for depicting violence including beatings, carjackings, drive-by shootings, drunk driving and prostitution.

A senior official at Thailand's Culture Ministry said the murder was a wake-up call for authorities to tackle the issue of violent video games, and urged parents to pay closer attention to what their children played.

"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, told Reuters. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

The ministry has been pushing for tougher regulation of video games such as Grand Theft Auto, including the imposition of a rating system on sales and restriction on hours that youngsters can play the games in public arcades.

A multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed in the U.S. state of Alabama against the makers and marketers of Grand Theft Auto in 2005, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager to kill two police officers and a 911 dispatcher.

The blockbuster Grand Theft Auto games are published by Nasdaq-listed Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO.O).

(Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Ed Cropley)

Yeah right! death by lethal injection i say.

[Payboy]

at least they didn't ban taxi's.....

[Richb2004v2]

That’s ok I got my copy a while ago.

Mind you, I do have the urge to drive my car recklessly the wrong way down the road, and my scooter dangerously along the sidewalk. Still, that’s probably not going to raise an eyebrow here.

[DeathbyDurian]

Actually, all this is going to do is make this the 'must have' game for Thai teens.

My parents would have described me as 'polite and diligent' too back when I was in high school. Which I was...as far as they knew.

However, I wouldn't blame the video game for this. If that WAS the case, this wouldn't be the first of its kind. There would have been hundereds of cases like this...the game series has been around for years.

[lazeeboy]

guns dont kill people ....people do

[Richb2004v2]

It's obviously not as easy as to blame the kid’s actions on a computer game. I'm sure a degree of mental instability played a major part. Apparently he also complained that he was sick of his parents constant arguing.

There are plenty of other things in the lives of Thai youths that could be changed to save a few lives. Sorting out the laws regarding children driving bikes four at a time in the wring direction might be a start, rather than worrying because one boy flips his lid who happened to play PC games.

[cynthialee]

ban people then...lol

[eefoo]

"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, told Reuters. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

What does this mean? Are video game shop owners somehow less expendable than cab drivers?

[DP25]

"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, told Reuters. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

What does this mean? Are video game shop owners somehow less expendable than cab drivers?

I took it as a warning to game shop owners that they should stop selling the game, because one of their customers might flip out and kill them.

[skippybangkok]

The game sucks anyway...............

[Richb2004v2]

Thai teens already drive with the abandon of the characters in that game, so the logical next step is to ‘take people out’ in the same way.

I am of course joking. I don’t think the game can be truly held responsible for these actions.

[Veazer]

"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, told Reuters. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

So she feels that the life of a game shop owner is more valuable than the life of a taxi driver? what is her point exactly?

[Robski]

Thai distributors have pulled GTA IV after a 19-year-old killed a taxi driver while recreating a scene from the game

One of the largest video game distributors in Asia has halted sales of the Grand Theft Auto IV in Thailand after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the game.

New Era Interactive said it had sent a note to all of its Thai stores telling them to pull the game off the shelves after a 19-year old high-school student confessed to killing a taxi driver with a knife he bought at a local branch of Tesco.

Police in Bangkok said that the youth "had wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game."

"We are urging all video game arcades to pull the game from service," said a spokesman for New Era Interactive, which has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Polwat Chino, described by his parents as polite and diligent, was arrested late on Saturday after he was found trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the severely wounded driver in the back seat, according to local newspaper reports.

He had paid to play the game at a local shop in Bangkok, and said he had needed more cash to continue playing it and that the taxi driver looked like an easy target.

Neighbours in the Bang Phlad district in central Bangkok called police after Mr Chino was heard pressing the car's horn while reversing down a dead end street. He had been trying to drive away - apparently in an attempt to recreate a scene from the game in which a criminal steals a car to evade police - but was unable to control a real car, police said.

The victim, a 54-year-old man from the poor northern province of Maha Sarakham, had been stabbed ten times.

A police spokesman said Mr Chino, an obsessive player of Grand Theft Auto, showed no sign of mental problems during questioning and had confessed to committing the crime because of the game.

In a statement, Mr Chino told police: "I needed money to play the game every day. My parents give me only 100 baht a day, which is not enough. I am also fed up with them fighting. They are civil servants and do not make good money."

"My mother gave me 500 baht, so in the evening I went to the Tesco Lotus superstore and bought two knives." Police have charged Mr Chino with robbery, causing death and possessing offensive weapons. If gound guilty, he faces death by lethal injection.

A senior official at Thailand's Culture Ministry, which has been pursuing tougher regulation of violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, said the murder was a wake-up call for authorities, and urged parents to take note of what their children were playing.

"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," the official was quoted as saying. "Today it is a cab driver but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner." Thai authorities have been pushing for a rating system on video games, as well as restrictions on how long youths can spend playing games in video arcades.

Grand Theft Auto, which is published by the Scottish company Rockstar and has raised more than $1 billion (£500 million) this year, has been criticised for depicting violent scenes such as beatings, car-jackings, and drive-by shootings.

A spokesman for Rockstar could not immediately be reached for comment.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/ne...icle4457144.ece

Edited August 4, 2008 by Robski

[dotcom]

Will they be banning airline flights too?

I can see now they have good reason to censor porn.

Wouldn't want too many people &^%$ing.

[TopDogger]

So she feels that the life of a game shop owner is more valuable than the life of a taxi driver? what is her point exactly?

I thought exactly the same thing, she has been very flippant with that statement by not specifiying that she meant taxi drivers who refuse to used their meters.

[Heng]

Way to avoid a lawsuit. Not that the victims would have won anyway here.

Looks like the bootleggers will have to increase production.

[Buzby]

Looks like the bootleggers will have to increase production.

Quite agree. Demand is likely to skyrocket with all the publicity.

[DP25]

There's already like 5 or 6 threads on this in various forums here...

[Robski]

Way to avoid a lawsuit.

I agree and also the publishers will want to be seen taking a responsible course of action to an event that will surely fuel the debate about violence in videogames.

Rockstar and other games developers will be taking this news very seriously as, for one of the very first times, there is a definate corrolation between the violence depicted in the game and an actual crime being perpetrated.

I have the game myself and I agree with it's 18+ (adult) rating, in a world full of very negative role models the lead character in this game is as bad as they get

and for lads of all ages that's a great attraction.

I know many boys in their early teens are playing it and there is a great interest in it from even younger kids because of it's 'illegallity' to them.

Total immersion in this type of world at a young age without the stabilising factors of positive role models will without a doubt in my mind blur the lines between reality and fiction.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Robski

[TheDon]

They almost did it in Australia too, but instead just took the blood out and the sex scenes out.

But you can still murder anyone on the street etc.

Whats the point?

Also I dont see how they can stamp it out in Thailand.

[Tony Clifton]

What a stupid little f*&%.

[freitag1]

It's not the games that kill its the lack of education and parents who do not care about what their kids are playing or doing in their free time. This kid obviously had problems separating reality and fiction.

[Jimjim]

This is quite a contentious subject in many countries. As for porn, which someone mentioned, some studies show that places where porn are allowed have a lower amount of rapes? As for violence and violent movies, games, I'm not sure on that one. I think for the most part, there are people who are going to commit violence no matter what. But there are a few kids who are extremely impressionable and possibly the video game leads them to violence. It's something that's hard to prove for sure. It needs more study. However, I think the cases would be extremely rare, like this one.

However, the police are not psychologists. For them to say they found no mental problems when talking with the kid seems bogus to me. Murdering someone because you saw it on a game and wondered if you could do it in real life? I'm sorry, that boy clearly has a mental problem and problems viewing reality. There could be many reasons for this. Many times someone appears normal until they do something crazy because you just don't know what is going on in someone's head, especially if they're naturally more introverted. I know lots of kids who have played that violent game and while I don't think it's constructive it doesn't lead them to murder. If it does, I'd just have to say it's extremely rare. Most violence is domestic violence or violence between people who know one another and doesn't have a thing to do with video games.

As for Thailand banning the game, I have no problem with it. As for banning porn, however, that's another thing.

[wasabi]

What's up with game playing addiction in Asia?

[kmart]

Evil foreign conglomerate Tesco's sold him the knife.