Chinese authorities have unraveled a strange case about video game addiction gone very awry.
It’s the case of Li Lin and Li Juan, a young couple who met in an Internet cafe in 2007. It was love at first sight, but instead of a romantic outcome, their fate would lead to a sick obsession.
Lin and Juan, both of whom were under 18 when they first met, became huge fans of massively multiplayer online games. But apparently they still had enough time for other facets of their relationship because they had children – which they ended up treating as a mere commodity.
In 2009, authorities say the two came up with a plan to sell their kids because they “did not want to care for them.”
Moreover, though, they needed the money to continue to pay for their online game addiction. The two regularly went to Internet cafes and would not only have to pay for their game subscriptions and in-game purchases, but also for the amount of time they spent online in the cafe.
They managed to raise about $10,000 from their child trafficking ring, and may have even gotten away with it but a family member learned of the illegal act and alerted the police.
Lin and Juan reportedly said they were unaware that selling children was illegal. That sounds too incredulous to possibly be true, but then again these are people who had unprotected sex, birthed children, and developed a crack-like addiction all before the age of 21, so we’re not talking about smart people to begin with.
There was no report on the current state of their children, but it’s believed they are safe and hopefully in the hands of someone who can offer the love and support that every child deserves.
