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Dutch Teen Brutally Beaten by Online Game Possessions

Rivals brutally beat teenagers for the amulet and mask he had in medieval fantasy game

Dutch Supreme Court upheld the theft conviction

Court declared that the virtual objects were valuable to the gamer's 13-year-old due to the time and energy he expended' in winning them

By Jill Reilly Updated: 11:45 BST, 2 February 2012

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A Dutch teenager was brutally assaulted and threatened with a knife during a dispute over virtual possessions in the wildly popular online fantasy game RuneScape.

The boy, who was 13 years old, was slapped for 'picking up' an amulet and a mask while playing, which two other teens wanted too.
Runescape Wiki

They kicked him and swung knives, and then forced him to log onto RuneScape and give up the items.

Intimidation: The teenager was beaten and threatened with a knife in the course of an argument over virtual objects in an incredibly popular online game of fantasy called RuneScape

This allowed one of the players who were also playing the game, to effectively steal the items.

RUNESCAPE.COM FACTS

RuneScape was created in 2001, currently has around 10 million active players who are said to be regular players.

It is situated in the medieval world of Gielinor which is made up of grassy rolling hills and vast areas of woodland.

Guinness World Records holds the title of the world's most played free role-playing game.

In 2009 a man hacked into computer accounts and stole virtual characters as well as their belongings from RuneScape and was issued an arrest warrant by the police.

A few months before one RuneScape account was sold on eBay for a price of PS46,000.

The attack occurred in 2007 and the perpetrators were found guilty in 2009. However one of the attackers appealed to Dutch Supreme Court.

But on the other hand, the Netherlands highest court affirmed the theft conviction.

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The lawyer representing the suspect had claimed that the amulet, and mask, were 'not tangible or material' and unlike electricity, was of no value in terms of economic value.

But the Court said the virtual objects were of intrinsic value to the 13-year-old player because of the time and effort he invested in winning them when playing the game.
Runescape Wiki

Their names were not revealed because they were minors. The defendant who appealed was sentenced to 144 hours community service.

This is not the first time that virtual reality has been incorporated into real-world scenarios.

The Dutch Supreme Court ruled that the virtual objects had intrinsic value to the player at 13 years old due to the time and effort he invested in winning them'. It also upheld the conviction of theft.

In 2009, a man who hacked into computers and stole virtual characters and their belongings from RuneScape was issued a police caution.

The Dutch Supreme Court sentenced him to 100 hours of community service.

A middle-aged man from Devon was able to attack a schoolboy in September last year when his online character was killed during the Call Of Duty game.
Runescape Wiki

Mark Bradford, 46, was furious at being shot in the war simulation by the 13 year-old and 'lost' it when the teenager manipulated him in the aftermath of his death online.

An unemployed father of three Bradford was escorted out of his bed in Plymouth, Devon and confronted the boy in the home of his friend. He then placed his hands around the neck of the boy.

They were playing Call Of Duty: Black Ops online against each other and were talking on microphones.

The attack culminated when the teenager's frightened mother pulled Bradford off the boy, who was left bruised and reddening around the neck.

In 2005, a man aged 20 from Alabama who shot three police officers, claimed unsuccessfully his actions were due to the hours that he played the video game "Grand Theft Auto" in which players shoot police officers and steal cars.

Devin Moore, his arrestee, told the police that life is a game and that everyone has to end up dying at some point in time.