Posted by Denis Cummings to findingDulcinea
Grand Theft Auto IV has been pulled from stores in Thailand after a teenager murdered a taxi driver while imitating the game.
Polwat Chino, a 19-year-old high school student, told police he had been playing Grand Theft Auto IV in a Bangkok shop before running out of money. He saw a taxi driver and thought that he would be an easy target to rob.
According to Bangkok police, Chino “had wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game.” He stabbed the taxi driver multiple times and threw him into the back of the cab. He attempted to drive away, but was unable to control the car and was arrested.
An official from Thailand’s Cultural Ministry blamed the game. “This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse,” he said. “Today it is a cab driver but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner.”
The Grand Theft Auto series has been accused of promoting violence since the release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. Attorney Jack Thompson has been particularly critical of GTA and has filed many lawsuits.
The most prominent of these lawsuits was filed in 2005, after teenager Devin Moore stole a car and killed two police officers. The story was featured on “60 Minutes,” on which Ed Bradley asked, “Can a video game train someone to kill?”
There have been many studies on whether violent video games encourage violent behavior, but the results have been mixed. Though many studies have found some correlation, the American Academy of Family Physicians writes that “no consistent theories have emerged to explain a causative relationship between violent video games and antisocial behavior.”
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