Chinese authorities have executed Xu Yao for murdering his associate, billionaire gaming tycoon Lin Qi. In 2020, a disgruntled Xu poisoned Lin for sidelining him shortly after he helped him land a Netflix deal, local media reported.

Lin's Yoozoo Games holds the film adaptation rights for the Chinese science fiction trilogy which Netflix made into the series "3 Body Problem." Xu was convicted in 2024, and his execution, reportedly on May 21, was confirmed Tuesday by his company in a statement, adding "justice has ultimately been served."

"We deeply mourn Mr. Lin and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family," the statement said. The science fiction trilogy is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin's "Remembrance of Earth's Past." The Netflix adaptation in 2024 quickly became one of the streaming platform's most-watched shows.

Lin's death came as a shock to the gaming industry in China and beyond. In 2018, Lin appointed Xu to lead Three-Body Universe, a subsidiary to manage projects related to the science fiction franchise. But they fell out in 2020 when Lin decided to put other executives in charge of business operations.

After that, Xu disguised lethal substances as probiotic pills and gave them to Lin. In December 2020, Lin went to the hospital after feeling unwell and died nine days later at age 39. At the time, his net worth was estimated at around 6.8 billion yuan ($941 million), according to the Hurun China Rich List.

Source: www.bbc.com