A boy engrossed in online gaming failed to notice his mother
falling and subsequently dying, even though she was in the same
room as him.
The 13-year-old boy lived together with his parents in the city
of Keelung in Taiwan, and was reportedly an avid MMO player, having
received a PC from his parents as a birthday present.
So engrossed was he that he did notice when his mother fell and
banged her head on an item of furniture, causing her to lose
consciousness, even though she was less than 5 metres away. He
continued playing even as his mother succumbed to her injuries,
expiring soon after.
The boy claimed he paid his mother no heed as she was prescribed
sedatives (apparently the cause of her fall) due to a mental
illness and occasionally slept on the floor. The noise of her
hitting her head he apparently ascribed to her turning in her
sleep.
If his parents bought him a tennis racket on his birthday and he
was outside playing tennis with his friends instead, it wouldn't
have made any difference.
