A man died after reportedly playing computer games overnight at an Internet cafe in Tainan yesterday.
The man, surnamed Ting (丁), 46, came in on Saturday evening and paid for the night, which he spent playing online combat games, according to customers and staff at the Internet cafe on Tainan’s Tatung Road.
Staff on the premises said Ting paid for a six-hour session when he came in at about 6pm on Saturday and when people found him sitting in his seat with his eyes closed in the morning, they thought he was just tired and had dozed off.
Ting remained in his seat until about 10am yesterday morning, when business picked up and people entered the store to play online games.
An employee wanted to wake Ting to make room for another patron, as his session was over, but when he did not reply, she noticed that he was not breathing and called the police.
When police and medics examined Ting in his seat, they found no vital signs and traces of foam around his mouth.
An ambulance took Ting’s body to a local hospital.
A preliminary medical report said that Ting had experienced “sudden death” either from a heart attack or a stroke, but doctors could not establish whether he had died while playing games or in his sleep.
Police interviewed patrons at the Internet cafe, but found that most had been immersed in their own online games.
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