S Korea child 'starves as parents raise virtual baby'

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

A South Korean couple who were addicted to the internet let their three-month-old baby starve to death while raising a virtual daughter online, police said.

The pair fed their own premature baby just once a day in between 12-hour stretches at an internet cafe, the official Yonhap news agency reported.

Police officer Chung Jin-won told Yonhap they "lost their will to live a normal life" after losing their jobs.

He said they "indulged themselves online" to escape from reality.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8551122.stm

[Jkid]

1. We all need escapism.

Problem with escapism is that there can be too much of it. This is particularly true if we have responsibilities, such as our children, school, employment, or family obligations.

[proteus_lives]

2. WTF?

They're monsters. They belong in prison for the rest of their lives.

[Ecumenist]

4. Yes and while in prison, they need to fed VIRTUAL FOOD.

Let's see how it works for them.

[virgogal]

3. God almighty!

[bertman]

5. No words.

[emilyg]

6. So sad.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. awful.

[boppers]

8. It was Prius Online. Nice graphics...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un5Bh_g8JCU

I'm guessing all that time grinding their accounts won't help in prison.

[alp227]

9. There's a prison up North whose inmates can't wait to jump this couple. eom

[NuttyFluffers]

10. ah, the pressure cooker that is S. Korea...

any imperfection in one's life tends to be amplified into personal failings of cosmic proportions. many people cannot cope. throw in a non-existent or developing social safety net infrastructure and you get tragedies like this.

[No Elephants]

11. I smell bs.