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Couple who starved baby girl to death were raising an online girl character: police
SEOUL, March 5 (Yonhap) -- A couple, who were arrested earlier this week for neglecting their baby girl and letting her starve to death, had actually been raising an online girl character, the police said on Friday.
The couple, residents of a southern Seoul suburb, allegedly neglected their prematurely born three-month-old daughter, feeding her just once a day in between 12-hour stretches at a neighborhood Internet cafe. Police said they had become obsessed with raising a virtual girl character called "Anima" in the popular role-playing game "Prius Online."
"The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life, because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," said Chung Jin-won, a police officer in Suwon. "They indulged themselves in the on-line game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby."
Experts said the couple appeared to have lost track of reality.
"On-line game addiction can blur the line between reality and the virtual world. It seems that taking care of their on-line game character erased any sense of guilt they may have had for neglecting their daughter," said Kwak Dae-kyung, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University.
This is not the first game addiction-related death in South Korea. Multi-player gaming is treated almost like a sport here, due in part to the country having the world's fastest and most widespread broadband network.
Last month, a 32-year-old man died after reportedly playing an on-line computer game for five days with few breaks and meals. A similar incident was reported involving a 28-year-old man in 2005.
Part of the problem is that addicts have nowhere to seek help, Kwak said, urging the government to swiftly prepare measures so that families and neighbors can contact local authorities or hospitals if anyone shows symptoms of addiction.
"This kind of situation is not a problem that an individual can solve," Kwak said. "Families and neighbors should actively report to the local government or medical facilities. The government also needs to establish system to help addicts recover their normal life through counseling."
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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