A court in Lahore has sentenced 17-year-old Zain Ali to 100 years in prison for the murder of his mother, brother, and two sisters several years ago after losing a game of PUBG.
A court in Lahore has sentenced 17-year-old Zain Ali to 100 years in prison for the murder of his mother, brother, and two sisters several years ago after losing a game of PUBG.
The verdict was handed down by Additional Sessions Judge Riaz Ahmed, who «sentenced the defendant to 100 years in prison on four counts» in the shooting death of his family members, The Independent reports. The court said in its ruling that the defendant «brutally killed his family under the influence of an online game.»
The tragedy occurred in the crowded Kahna neighborhood of Lahore. According to the case file, Zain Ali, who was called an «avid PUBG player» by his family, spent most of his time in his room playing the game. On the day of the murder, he played PUBG for hours and, according to the police, «lost his mind» after failing a level and being reprimanded by his mother. Taking his mother’s registered gun, the boy opened fire on his family in the bedroom.
The victims were his mother Naid Mubarak (45 years old), older brother Teymur (20 years old) and two sisters — Mahnoor (15 years old) and Jannat (10 years old). All died on the spot. Zain himself was 17 years old at the time of the verdict, so the court took into account the minor age of the accused at the time of the crime and replaced the death penalty with four life sentences of 25 years each.
The investigation emphasized behavioral outbursts of aggression during and after gaming sessions. Judge Ahmed emphasized in his motivation that the severity of the crime and the public danger leave no room for a milder punishment, but the law allows for the defendant’s age to be taken into account when choosing a measure.
The sentence was one of the harshest in similar cases in Lahore in recent years. Apart from the prison term, the court did not announce any additional restrictions or fines. The defense has the right to appeal the decision to higher courts.
Pakistan has been a hotbed of debate about the impact of gaming on teenagers. Local courts and regulators have occasionally heard complaints about gaming content and behavioral risks, but there have been few precedents where gaming addiction has been directly implicated in a verdict in a mass family murder case. The case has raised questions about the combination of psychological support for teens, controlling access to guns in households, and parental monitoring of online activity during school and leisure time.
Recall, previously dev.ua wrote about how a guy in South Korea evaded military service, speaking out «against war and violence,» but the court rejected his application, based on the fact that this guy was playing PUBG.
