Grand Theft Auto' Link To Murder

Copies of Grand Theft Auto are being removed from shelves in Thailand after a teenager, inspired by the violent computer game, killed a taxi driver.

The 18-year-old High School student is facing death by lethal injection after robbing and stabbing the cabbie to death.

Police said the youth, an obsessive player, confessed to committing the crime because of the game.

Chief investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak said: "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."

It is reported he was also angry that his parents could not afford to but him a copy and spent his allowance on two knives.

The youth, described by his parents as polite and diligent, was arrested after being caught driving the cab in Bangkok with the critically-injured driver in the back seat.

He told police he did not mean to kill the 54-year-old - who he selected because of his age - but that he stabbed him to death when he fought back, newspapers reported.

A Thai computer game distributor has now halted sales of the game.

Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media, said: "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.

"We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service."

Grand Theft Auto, now available in its fourth edition, has been criticised for depicting violence including beatings, car-jackings, drive-by shootings, drunk-driving and prostitution.

A senior official at Thailand's Culture Ministry said the murder was a wake-up call for authorities to tackle the issue of violence in computer games.

And he urged parents to pay closer attention to what their children played.

Ladda Thangsupachai said: "This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse.

"Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner.
Tags: Grand Theft Auto, 4, Vice City, Gangs, violent computer game, Taxi Driver