A billionaire Netflix producer and chairman of a Chinese game developer has died on Christmas Day, with police confirming he had been poisoned.
Lin Qi, 39, was the chairman and founder of Yazzoo Group - which was responsible for creating the video game Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming based on the HBO series.
According to the Hurun China Rich List, Mr Lin - who was an executive producer on Netflix's upcoming adaptation of The Three-Body Problem books - had a net worth of around $1bn (£770 million).
Following his death, Shanghai police have pointed the finger towards one of Mr Lin's colleagues - identified by his surname Xu - as the main suspect. He has been arrested amid ongoing investigations.
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The statement from Shanghai Police reads: "At 5pm on Dec 17, 2020, the police received a call from a hospital regarding a patient surnamed Lin.
"During the patient's treatment, the hospital said it had determined that the patient had been poisoned. Following the call, the police began an investigation.
"According to investigations on site and further interviews, the police found that a suspect surnamed Xu, who is a coworker of the victim Lin, was the most likely the perpetrator. The suspect Xu has been arrested and investigations continue."
According to local media, Xu is suspected to have poisoned Mr Lin due to 'work disputes' that resulted in Xu's salary being cut.
Yoozoo released a statement on Friday (25 December) after finding out the news from Mr Lin's family. The release read: "The board of directors gives its highest respects to the chairman for his contributions to the firm," adding that Yoozoo executives and employees felt 'deep grief and mourning, and send their sincere condolences to the family'.
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In a company wide tribute, which was signed off by all staff, Yoozoo said: "You saw through what was imperfect but still believed in beauty; encountered unkindness but still believed in kindness.
"Together, we will continue to be kind, continue to believe in beauty, and continue to fight against all that is unkind."
According to the company, Mr Lin had admitted himself to hospital after feeling unwell but they went on to say he was in a stable condition. Things took an unlikely turn on Christmas Day as it was announced that he had passed.
LADbible has contacted Netflix for a comment.
Featured Image Credit: Yoozoo