Two Crooks Launch Real-Life ‘GTA’ Mission to Fuel Online Gaming Addiction

By Ryan Bates on February 4, 2013@WordsWithRhino

The next time you wonder if your friend or significant other is obsessed with gaming, remember this story: two young men in China have been arrested after attempting to steal and sell a cab for cash to fuel their online gaming obsession.

Liu, 25, had a fight with his wife in November 2012, according to the Kotaku story. He left his home with about 1000 Chinese Yuan (roughly $160), headed to Guomi, a city in his province of Shangdong, and hunkered down in an internet cafe for about a month, spending his time playing online games as well as… other online activities.

Guys, you know what I mean. Don’t act innocent.

When Liu’s cash started to dwindle, he started to steal from other cafe patrons, but that only amassed the Yuan equivalent of about $30. One night, Liu met Li, 26, who was from the same village as he was. Both addicted to online gaming, and both cash-strapped, the two did what any logical person would do – hatch a scheme to steal a taxi.

The duo hailed a cab, indicated a “destination,” then when they were almost there, changed course to a more desolate area; when no one was around, they attacked, brandishing a knife. The two robbed the cabbie of two cell phones and about 700 Yuan (around $112). The two bandits threw the cabbie out, took control of the taxi… and promptly crashed it into a tree on the side of the road.

The cabbie, who was unhurt, tracked down a phone and called the cops, who were able to track down the wrecked taxi via a GPS unit. After questioning the cabbie, police had a composite of both Liu and Li, as well as their original location: the internet cafe.

Local police were able to pick up both criminals, as Liu was caught in his ne’er-do-well ways at – you guessed it – an internet cafe. Police hauled Liu in, who snitched on Li, who could only make a few hundred Yuan off the sale of the cell phones (no more than $40 US).

Both are now in police custody, without internet service.

The moral of the story: Grand Theft Auto – great game, terrible real-life idea.

Ryan Bates is a native of Southern California currently in a love/hate relationship with Las Vegas, Nevada. (It's complicated.) Ryan is a Nintendiehard but does not discriminate against other consoles. He is also involved with the growing Gaymer movement. When not gaming, Ryan enjoys boxing, trying out new foods, and theme parks, and has a sick yet totally radical fascination with '80s and '90s pop culture.