简体中文
China's entertainment company tycoon Lin Qi, holding copyrights for movie and TV adaptations of the Chinese sci-fi epic The Three-Body Problem, died on Dec. 25 amid dramatic poison murder allegations. He was 39.
His company, Yoozoo Group, released an obituary on Christmas Day to confirm that its founder and chairman had died due to illness and no treatment could save him, as Lin's family put it.
As the founder of the company, Mr. Lin Qi had devoted himself to its operation since the establishment of the company, the statement by the company's board of directors read. He had laid a solid foundation for the long-term development of the company and made indelible contributions.
It added, When serving as the company's chairman and general manager, Mr. Lin Qi was diligent, faithfully fulfilling his duties and obligations.
The board of directors, on behalf of all executives and employees, paid their highest respect to Mr. Lin Qi for his contribution to the company and expressed their deep condolences to his family.
When the news broke, many employees returned to work to build a candlelight and flowers shrine down in front of the company's building.
Yoozoo Group headquarters in Shanghai in 2020. [Photo/VCG]
Lin, although young, had already become a billionaire by engaging in online game business since he founded Yoozoo Group in 2009 as a world-leading provider of interactive entertainment. He had ambitions to enter filmmaking area since 2014 after the company's game branch was listed on Shenzhen stock market.
Then he bought the rights of and invested in the hottest Chinese sci-fi intellectual property The Three-Body Problem to explore films, TV and online series, stage plays, animations and merchandises, including a high-profile English series with Netflix, an adaptation from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. He served as an executive producer on the series.
Things took a dramatic turn since the first news broke that he was hospitalized due to acute symptoms on the evening of Dec. 16. But the company claimed Lin's situation was improving thanks to the hospital's treatment.
Yoozoo Group also said the hospital also contacted Shanghai's local police to probe if he was poisoned by the lead suspect, an executive of the company's film branch. According to media reports, the suspect was already detained for further investigations. Dramatic rumors were rampant on social network platforms for days before the company confirmed there was really an issue.
Lin was Yoozoo's largest shareholder, owning 23.99% of shares. On the Monday morning, the company announced that the board member Xu Bin will serve as acting chairman while the vice general manager will serve as the acting general manager.
