Arrested for virtual murder????

yet a another Yahoo! article: A woman whose "husband" divorced her in an online game is jailed for killing his avatar in "Maplestory".

the full details aren't up yet, but still, what the hell dudes. what is the world coming to?

 

Right why dont I belive you

 

as I said, for some weird reason the details are not up yet . still, talk about cyber-murder

 

Aha! found it!

Police jail woman accused of killing digital husband in role playing game after online divorce
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By MARI YAMAGUCHI , Associated Press
Last update: October 23, 2008 - 2:48 PM

TOKYO - A 43-year-old Japanese woman whose sudden divorce in a virtual game world made her so angry that she killed her online husband's digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said Thursday.

The woman, who is jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

The woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.

She has not yet been formally charged, but if convicted could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.

Players in "Maple Story" raise and manipulate digital images called "avatars" that represent themselves, while engaging in relationships, social activities and fighting against monsters and other obstacles.

The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.

The woman was arrested Wednesday and was taken across the country, traveling 620 miles from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sappporo, where the man lives, the official said.

The police official said he did not know if she was married in the real world.

In recent years, virtual lives have had consequences in the real world. In August, a woman was charged in Delaware with plotting the real-life abduction of a boyfriend she met through "Second Life," another virtual interactive world.

 

Now I belive you.

But anyway that's seriously crazy. Got a link to prove this is from yahoo.

 

I think the issue here is not that she killed his avatar, but that she illegally accessed his account which is the crime itself. Manipulating and accessing someone's account is illegal.

 

That would be correct, good sir. You win a cookie.

 

wow, you can get arrested for hijacking other people account?

 

That's an invasion of privacy, especially if the "invader's" purpose is to disrupt or ruin the victim's data or something of equal value.

 

but then, its just an online game account....... its not importance thing like bank account or something.....

 

It is still an invasion of privacy. The fact that it's not important to you does not mean it's not important to the victim. It is also a form of identity theft, all which is protected by the Constitution (at least in my country it is). Thus it is a big transgression.

 

And some people do tend to take their online games too seriously. Ever heard of those Korean gamers hunting other gamers who happen to kill their characters & steal rare items from them?

 

Also, if an account was invaded that had used the process of NX Cash, in which you use real money to get bonus items that mask over previous ones, then the 'Wife' could steal such stuff, causing it to be a theft case as well.

EDIT: Btw, if anyone plays Europe MapleStory here, then my username is 'Scootero', if anyone wants to add me. I'm on English 2. (I'm allowed to 'advertise' as such, like that, arn't I? >_^

 

Wow! Maplestory sounds fun! ;D

 

so is the woman being arrested for murder, hacking, or both?

just a reminder, not everyone here is clueless about hacking, and even less are the nice hackers...god youre brave

 

Hacking. You can't be arrested for murdering something that does not exist in reality. Her killing his character is only murder in the virtual world but not in reality.

 

Yup, i'm not just a game hacker, I know my way around software... But i'm a nice hacker

 

Oh, yeah. My character's name is Scootero. After all, you sign into your account, and THEN make your character. I'm not giving away my account name, that would just be stupid. ;D
So you know, I think I'll be fine. ;D

 

Give or take 5 to 10 years, I'm sure some fruitty attorney or statesman will file for a law that will include virtual murder as a crime worthy of penalisation.