The president of a Chinese Netflix affiliate that was poisoned this month has died – and a co-worker remains the prime suspect in the shocking case, according to reports.
Yoozoo Group leader Lin Qi – executive producer of the streaming adaptation of Chinese sci-fi book The Three-Body Problem – was hospitalized for the first time on December 16th.
Chinese media have identified a senior executive at Yoozoo, Xu Yao, as the one who targeted Lin after an internal dispute within the growing company.
Now in custody, Xu led the company’s film and television division and was chosen to oversee all projects related to the Three Bodies Problem.
Yoozoo – which owns the production rights for the books – initially sought to produce film adaptations and games for the series, but those projects began before the company became a successful partner with Netflix.
Shanghai police began investigating the case after hospital officials alerted them to Qi’s illness and suspected poisoning.
“Following the call, the police started an investigation. According to on-site investigations and subsequent interviews, police found that a suspect named Xu, who is a colleague of the victim Lin, was most likely the perpetrator, “according to a post on the department’s social media. “Suspect Xu has been arrested and investigations are ongoing.”
Lin, 39, was reportedly poisoned after drinking a compromised cup of tea, according to reports.
He worked with Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss to develop the highly anticipated project.
Written by renowned Chinese author Liu Cixin, The Three-Body series has emerged as a global bestseller and has won a number of high-profile awards.
First of all, a game developer, Yoozoo also produces a video game based on Game of Thrones.
The company’s shares fell by up to 18% after Lin’s initial hospitalization.