The chairman of a Netflix-affiliated Chinese gambling company that was poisoned this month has died – and a colleague remains the prime suspect in the shocking case, according to reports.
Yoozoo Group boss Lin Qi – executive producer of the streaming giant’s adaptation of the Chinese sci-fi book series The Three-Body Problem – was first hospitalized on December 16.
Chinese media have identified that a senior executive at Yoozoo, Xu Yao, was the target of Lin following an internal dispute within the emerging company.
Now in custody, Xu headed the company’s film and television division and was chosen to oversee all projects related to The Three-Body Problem.
Yoozoo – who owns the production rights to the books – initially tried to produce film and game adaptations of the series, but those projects faltered before the company successfully partnered with Netflix.
Shanghai police began investigating the matter after hospital officials warned them of Qi disease and suspected poisoning.
“After the phone call, the police started an investigation. According to on-site investigations and further interviews, police discovered that a suspect named Xu, who is an employee of the victim Lin, was the most likely perpetrator, ”said a social media report from the department. “The suspect Xu has been arrested and the investigation is continuing.”
Lin, 39, was reportedly poisoned after drinking a compromised cup of tea.
He partnered with Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss on the development of the highly anticipated project.
Written by acclaimed Chinese author Liu Cixin, the Three-Body Series has become a worldwide bestselling phenomenon and has won a slew of high-profile awards.
Primarily a game developer, Yoozoo also produces a video game based on Game of Thrones.
The company’s stock fell a whopping 18 percent after Lin’s initial hospitalization.