Thailand pulls Grand Theft Auto after murder

by jessica.lam | August 4, 2008 at 09:27 am

1635 views | 4 Recommendations | 27 comments

This is sure to incite yet another debate on the effects of violent video games have on users as Thailand is pulling GTA from the shelves due to the murder of a taxi driver. The game has been blamed as the source of curiosity for those who have committed such crimes.

A Thai video game distributor halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto" on Monday after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the controversial game.
"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media, told Reuters.

"We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service," Sakchai said. An 18-year-old high school student, now in custody pending further investigations and a trial, faces death by lethal injection if found guilty of robbing and killing a 54-year-old taxi driver with a knife at the weekend.

Police said the youth, an obsessive player of "Grand Theft Auto," showed no sign of mental problems during questioning and had confessed to committing the crime because of the game.

"He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak told Reuters.

The youth, described by his parents as polite and diligent, was arrested late on Saturday after he was found trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the severely wounded driver in the back seat, newspapers reported.

The suspect told police he did not mean to kill the driver, whom he had chosen as a possible victim because of his age, but that he stabbed him to death when he fought back, newspapers reported.

A senior official at Thailand's Culture Ministry said the murder was a wake-up call for authorities to tackle the issue of violent video games, and urged parents to pay closer attention to what their children played.

The ministry has been pushing for tougher regulation of video games such as Grand Theft Auto, including the imposition of a rating system on sales and restriction on hours that youngsters can play the games in public arcades.

A multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed in the U.S. state of Alabama against the makers and marketers of Grand Theft Auto in 2005, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager to kill two police officers and a 911 dispatcher.

And another such incident:

Teenagers who police say went on a video-game-inspired late-night crime spree were arraigned Thursday after they mugged a man outside a New Hyde Park supermarket and menaced motorists in Garden City with a baseball bat, a crowbar and a broomstick, Nassau police said.

The teens told detectives they were imitating the "Grand Theft Auto" video-game series where characters steal cars, beat up other characters and commit crimes, authorities said.

Police have identified at least three victims: a man they said was severely beaten during a robbery; a would-be carjacking victim; and a driver whose van was smashed with a bat.

Knowing many people who play this game, it is disconcerting to read about the convenience of having such a violent game being used as excuse to commit crimes. Role playing and learning to behave like the game characters are easily understandable. Spending 2 hours a day - gamers inevitably learn the accents and lingo that the characters use.

227

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

fangleman

at 10:53 on August 4th, 2008

fangleman has contributed a photo to this story.

plasma587

at 10:55 on August 4th, 2008

The Thais should sort out their paedophile sex tourism and stop trying to ban video games. Playing video games doesn't cause violence. Politicians and censors need to look at the causes of violence and how to take violent people out of society for good rather than ban video games. Hanging would be a good way of ensuring violent criminals don't get a second chance.

jessica.lam

at 07:55 on August 5th, 2008

Thanks for your comment! I am not too sure if the incidents are just isolated to the Thailand.

bltphoto

at 13:44 on August 4th, 2008

the story seemed balanced so had no problems anyone using my picture it was good to be asked

bltphoto has contributed a photo to this story.

Rob Peters

at 13:51 on August 4th, 2008

Call me lame, but this is why I prefer the more cutesy approach--Zelda, Super Mario, Donkey Kong etc.--that Nintendo has used to considerable success. There's no need to make killing people hyper-realistic. Better to kill Goombas.

SOLARLIFE

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:58 on August 4th, 2008

jay.el, I like this story. Grand Theft Auto, teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver. This game is obsolete, violence education to rob, overrun your neigbour, just kill for fun. NO. Same game copy in France by youngsters, using their scooter to run down people in the park, frighten them, rob them. The day will come we beat up the marketing guys, who profit from the decadence of youth education. Name of the game: "Kill the game boy designer"

jessica.lam

at 07:57 on August 5th, 2008

There is a similar game to GTA in France that teens are emulating?

mdavidangst

at 14:32 on August 4th, 2008

I love and cherish freedom of expression

mdavidangst has contributed a photo to this story.

thefunkatron

at 14:52 on August 4th, 2008

thefunkatron has contributed a photo to this story.

africansk8er

at 16:06 on August 4th, 2008

GTA shouldn't be blamed for this. I've played through the entire game, and I've never felt like murdering someone once. The game is really good, and shows off some of the great technological advancements that have been made. If you had played the game, you would learn that the main character regrets doing the crime that he does and decides to live a better life. The game isn't creating these things, it's just showing how it is in real life. There are gangs in real life, there are murders and drugs in real life. Probably the best description of GTA is that it is a mirror of what society is like today. Don't blame a game for something that has been around long before.

africansk8er has contributed a photo to this story.

jessica.lam

at 07:59 on August 5th, 2008

Perhaps it takes maturity to understand the bigger picture. In what ways do you think that we can educate those who are playing the game - to remind them of these basic human things.

Adrian Keys

at 16:10 on August 4th, 2008

$99 is how much you have to pay for GTA IV in South America.

Adrian Keys has contributed a photo to this story.

Charles Sporn

at 18:40 on August 4th, 2008

Charles Sporn has contributed a photo to this story.

peterj962

at 19:18 on August 4th, 2008

The Grand Theft Auto 4 Special Edition. All contents including a fake safe deposit box.

peterj962 has contributed a photo to this story.

defdac

at 21:31 on August 4th, 2008

In-game Photographer Daniel "defdac" Larsson, and his blog: http://www.defblog.se

defdac has contributed a photo to this story.

JackBlade

at 22:20 on August 4th, 2008

JackBlade has contributed a photo to this story.

matt Sephton (not verified)

at 01:58 on August 5th, 2008

I refused to let my photos be used for this story as it is sensationalist. Surely somebody ready to murder has more mental problems than their willingness to act out what they see on a TV screen?

Paul_Jose_Rio_Daza

at 02:53 on August 5th, 2008

"confessed to committing the crime because of the game."

what an excuse.

Paul_Jose_Rio_Daza has contributed a photo to this story.

Top_Gear

at 06:24 on August 5th, 2008

Great Game. All Time Classic Enjoy.

Top_Gear has contributed a photo to this story.

preducer

at 12:40 on August 5th, 2008

Grand Theft Auto FTW !!

preducer has contributed a photo to this story.

neatshit

at 19:28 on August 5th, 2008

Grand Theft Auto

neatshit has contributed a photo to this story.

Jordan Yerman

at 07:53 on August 6th, 2008

Other than the occasional moral-panic headline, no correlation has been found between video games and actual real-life human behavior. Bear in mind just how many copies of this game have been sold, not even counting the earlier versions (5 of them).

Furthermore, does this mean that criminals in Thailand can blame their actions on electronic entertainment, rather than upon their own choices? That's the larger message that I'm hearing here. What if the perpetrator had blamed reality shows? Or movies? This is basically the Twinkie Defense 2.0.

s4ints

at 21:20 on August 6th, 2008

a game is just a game.. what you do outside in the real world is your own interpretation of what's going on.. people who took guns and started shooting others need to have their brain checked in the first place.. they would have done so with or without playing the game..

i agree with africansk8er i have not felt that i have the need to kill someone after playing the game.. it's more of a stress relief..

so who are we blaming next? Nintendo? For implementing that mushrooms will make you grow bigger and flowers that will allow you too shoot fireballs? lol..

Ben SaLoMuN

at 08:48 on August 13th, 2008

I agree with you, I got exactly the same opinion! Good comment!

PlanMyGreen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 00:12 on August 10th, 2008

jessica.lam, I like this story. It's good stuff. I don't think I agree with your opinion of games like this, but its still a good news story. Since every murder and assault can be blamed on video games, and it is a strike against the game developers, shouldn't we give them credit for all the people that didn't go out and murder, because they were able to take their aggression out on a video game instead? Too many successful wonderful people are gamers to stay that games cause people to assault and murder. Constant absorption of violence definitely causes aggression issues, but a mentally healthy person will not go kill a cab driver because he saw it in a game. It appears more education needs to be giving to parents on the rating systems that accompany all video games.

pameladrew212

at 17:11 on August 10th, 2008

Howdy, I'm technically terrible but with help manage to limp around in cyberspace. Feel free to drop me a note and know you may any pictures of mine. Most are taken while roaming the streets of New York and often go with political muckraking articles I write at Newsvine. I'm glad to share any you enjoy!

pameladrew212 has contributed a photo to this story.

Ben SaLoMuN

at 08:46 on August 13th, 2008

Why do they blame the game? Every normal kid will know what happens in the game will stay in the game, I think it's just that too much younger people can get their hands on the game really. People that are for example 18 years old should know that it's just a game and it should not be copied to the streets in real life!