China executes man for poisoning billionaire Netflix producer

Chinese authorities have executed a man convicted of using poison to kill a billionaire gaming tycoon linked to the Netflix adaptation of “The Three-Body Problem” over a professional dispute, local media reported Tuesday.

Xu Yao was found guilty of killing Lin Qi, the founder of the Shanghai-based Yoozoo Games, which holds the film adaptation rights for the blockbuster science-fiction trilogy known by the title of its first book, “The Three-Body Problem.”

The sci-fi trilogy, by Chinese author Liu Cixin, has been translated into more than 40 languages and adapted into television and game productions, including Netflix’s popular “3 Body Problem” series released in 2024.

Xu, the former head of a subsidiary of Yoozoo Games, poisoned Lin in 2020 over being sidelined by the founder shortly after Xu helped his superior land the Netflix deal.

Xu was convicted in 2024, and Shanghai business magazine Yicai Global and other outlets reported he was executed May 21.

Lin’s company confirmed the execution in a statement Tuesday on the Weibo social media platform.

“Recently, the case concerning Mr. Lin Qi, the founder of Three-Body Universe, has finally reached its conclusion, and justice has ultimately been served,” the statement read.

“All of us at the company are deeply grateful for the upholding of justice,” it continued.

Yoozoo Games did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for additional comment.

The Shanghai High People’s Court did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

According to local media reports, Xu spent hundreds of thousands of yuan (tens of thousands of dollars) to buy highly toxic substances online, including alpha-amanitin, a lethal compound found in some poisonous mushrooms.

He disguised the poisons as probiotic pills, as well as put them inside coffee capsules, water containers and whiskey bottles, which he then shared with Lin and other company employees. The Hollywood Reporter, citing local media, reported at the time that Lin was allegedly sickened by a cup of poisoned tea.

Lin was taken to the hospital in December 2020 and died a few days later. He was 39.

Several others became sick but recovered.

“The Three-Body Problem” series has been hugely popular both in China and abroad. Liu, its author, became the first Chinese writer to win the prestigious Hugo Award, the genre’s biggest prize.

Domestically, the works spurred the growth of a sci-fi industry spanning movies, video games, books, magazines and exhibits.

Lin ranked No. 870 among China’s richest entrepreneurs with a net worth of 6.8 billion yuan ($1 billion), according to Hurun Report, which follows China’s wealthy.

After Lin died, the BBC reported his company issued an emotional statement on its official Weibo microblog.

“Goodbye youth,” it said, adding, “We will be together, continue to be kind, continue to believe in goodness, and continue the fight against all that is bad.”