This morning, the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court publicly pronounced a verdict in accordance with the law on the case of intentional homicide and the release of dangerous substances, and sentenced the defendant Xu Yao to death and deprived him of his political rights for life.
Looking back, on December 16, 2020, Lynch, chairman of Youzu Network, was sent to the hospital for treatment due to physical discomfort, and then the police released news that Lynch was suspected of poisoning, and the suspect was a colleague Xu, and Youzu Network announced that Lynch died on December 25 due to ineffective treatment. Xu in the police report is Xu Yao.
On November 2, 2020, Lynch ranked 31st on the "2020 Hurun Post-80s Self-Made Rich List" with a wealth of 6.8 billion yuan. As of today's noon close, Youzu Network fell slightly by 1.46%, with a share price of 11.45 yuan and a total market value of 10.487 billion yuan.
The verdict has just been announced
At 10 a.m. on March 22, 2024, the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court publicly pronounced a verdict in accordance with the law in the case of intentional homicide and releasing dangerous substances, sentencing defendant Xu Yao to death and depriving him of political rights for life, and sentenced defendant Xu Yao to six years in prison for the crime of disseminating dangerous substances, and decided to carry out the death penalty and deprive him of political rights for life.
After trial, the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court ascertained that the defendant Xu Yao had a conflict with the victim Lin due to the company's operation and management, and premeditated to poison the victim Lin's edible articles between December 14 and 15, 2020, causing Lin to be poisoned and died. Xu Yao also had conflicts with the victims Zhao X A and Zhao X B for work reasons, and from September to December 2020, he premeditated poisoning drinks and other items in the office of the two people, causing poisoning of Zhao X A and Zhao X B. At about 18:40 on December 18, 2020, Xu Yao was arrested by the public security organs.
The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court held that the defendant Xu Yao intentionally killed people, causing the death of one person, and that his conduct constituted the crime of intentional homicide, and that the act of disseminating poisonous substances to endanger public safety and causing the poisoning of four people constituted the crime of disseminating dangerous substances, and that he should be punished concurrently for several crimes in accordance with law. Defendant Xu Yao intentionally killed people by poisoning and endangering public safety, and his motives for committing the crime were extremely despicable, the criminal methods were extremely heinous, the harmful consequences were particularly serious, and the subjective malice was extremely great, and he should be severely punished in accordance with law. The court accordingly rendered the above decision.
The public prosecutor, the defendant and his defender, and the victim's agent ad litem appeared in court to participate in the announcement of the verdict. More than 50 people, including the defendant's family, the victim and his family, deputies to the National People's Congress, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and people from all walks of life, participated in the hearing.
Xu Yao was a senior executive of Youzu's subsidiary
Founded in 2009, the company's official website says that the company is based on four major business segments: global game R&D and distribution, well-known IP management, big data and intelligence, and pan-entertainment industry investment, and the game products launched include "Youth of the Three Kingdoms", "Tomb Robbery Notes", "Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming", "Goddess Alliance" series, etc.
On December 16, 2020, Lynch, the chairman and general manager of Youzu Network, was sent to the hospital for treatment due to physical discomfort, and then the police released news that Lynch was suspected of poisoning and the suspect was his colleague Xu, and on December 25, Youzu Network announced that Lynch died on December 25, 2020 due to ineffective treatment.
The Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau reported on December 23, 2020 that at about 17:00 on December 17, the police received a report that a hospital found that the patient Lin (male, 39 years old) was suspected of being poisoned during diagnosis and treatment. After receiving the report, the police immediately launched an investigation. After on-site investigation and investigation, it was found that Lin's colleague Xu (male, 39 years old) was suspected of committing a major crime. At present, Xu has been criminally detained by the police in accordance with the law, and the relevant investigation work is being further carried out.
Xu in the police report is Xu Yao. According to public information, Xu Yao was born in 1981, has a master's degree, graduated from the Law Department of Southwest University of Political Science and Law in 2003, graduated from the Insurance Law School of Paul Cézanne University in France in 2006, graduated from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Law School in 2008, and worked as a lawyer in the Hong Kong office of Dewey Loebs Law Firm; After joining Youzu, Xu Yao served as the Chief Risk Management Officer and Executive Director of Youzu Network Group, and also served as the CEO of Youzu Pictures. On December 10, 2018, Lin Qi and others established Shanghai Three-Body Universe Culture Development Co., Ltd., with Xu Yao as the company's CEO.
According to the data, Lynch was born in 1981, a native of Cangnan, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, and is a post-80s entrepreneur with a net worth of 10 billion. Lynch had two entrepreneurial experiences, both of which ended in failure, until he founded Youzu Network in 2009.
On November 3, 2014, the official website of Youzu disclosed that Youzu Network was officially listed in June 2014 and became the first game stock on the main board of A-shares.
In 2015, Lynch was elected as a standing committee member of the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, and in 2016, he was elected as the first president of the Shanghai Online Game Industry Association. In 2020, Lynch ranked 31st on the "2020 Hurun Post-80s Self-Made Rich List" with a wealth of 6.8 billion yuan.
As a young entrepreneur, Lynch has a wide range of hobbies. Lynch once revealed in an interview that he loves to play games, so he played a listed company, and he loves to play football, so he wants to buy a Chinese Super League team. And Lynch's image to the outside world is usually a baby-faced, inflated head, and a pair of serious black-rimmed glasses.
Youzu Network "Changed Hands"
As of today's noon close, Youzu Network fell slightly by 1.46%, with a share price of 11.45 yuan and a total market value of 10.487 billion yuan.
After Lynch's death, his family began to come to the forefront. In January 2021, Youzu Network announced that the shares of Youzu Network held by Lynch before his death will be inherited by his three minor children, and after the change of rights and interests, Xu Fenfen, the mother of the three children, will become the actual controller of the company as the legal guardian, and the shareholders' rights and interests of the company's shares held by the three will be exercised by his legal guardian Xu Fenfen.
Less than half a year after the above announcement, it was reported that Xu Fenfen was planning an equity transfer.
On January 2, 2023, Youzu Network announced that the three heirs of Lynch, the company's original controlling shareholder and actual controller, and his legal guardian signed the "Share Transfer Framework Agreement" with Shanghai Jiayou Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Jiayou"), intending to transfer 12.34% of the shares held by Lynch's three children to Shanghai Jiayou. After the completion of the transfer, Shanghai Jiayou will become the largest shareholder.
On March 17, 2023, Youzu Network issued the "Announcement on the Completion of the Transfer of Shares by Shareholders' Agreement and the Change of the Company's Largest Shareholder", announcing that the company's largest shareholder was changed to Shanghai Jiayou.
Subsequently, Youzu Network issued the "Announcement on the Resignation of the Chairman of the Company and Some Directors", and Chairman Xu Fenfen and some directors submitted their resignations for personal reasons.
According to the announcement, Xu Fenfen proposed to resign from all positions of the company's sixth board of directors, non-independent director, chairman of the strategy committee, member of the remuneration and assessment committee, member of the nomination committee, and the company and its subsidiaries for personal reasons. After her resignation, Xu Fenfen will no longer hold any position in the company and its subsidiaries.
From the perspective of operating performance, according to the third-quarter financial report released by Youzu Network, in the first three quarters of 2023, the company's revenue was about 1.179 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.35%, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was about 10.44 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 85.89%.