LAHORE: A Lahore sessions court on Thursday sentenced a teenage boy to 100 years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs4 million for killing his mother, two sisters and brother under the influence of the online game PUBG.
Additional Sessions Judge Riaz Ahmed announced the verdict, awarding Ali Zain four life sentences, citing his age as a factor in the punishment.
Prosecutor Habibur Rehman presented witnesses before the court, leading to the conviction.
The horrifying murders took place on the night of January 18–19, 2022, in the Kahna area of Lahore.
According to police, Zain, an avid PUBG player, lost a match and decided to avenge his defeat by testing his killing skills on his family.
How the killings unfolded
SSP Investigations Imran said that around 2:30 am, Zain took out his mother’s pistol and shot her, his sisters and brother through a pillow to muffle the sound.
“The manner of killing was highly professional. He knew the pistol would make noise, so he fired from inside a pillow to reduce it,” the officer said.
Why everyone is talking about PUBG Mobile Version 4.0’s ghostly twist?
Police investigations revealed that Zain first killed his mother, Dr Naheed Mubarak, followed by his 15-year-old sister Mahnoor Fatima and 10-year-old sister Jannat. His brother, who rushed in from another room after hearing the g, was also killed in the same manner.
After murdering his family, Zain went downstairs to his mother’s clinic in the house and slept there. The next morning, when the maid arrived, she found the bodies and called the police helpline. Police later found Zain in the clinic.
Initially, the FIR was filed in Zain’s name as he was believed to be the only surviving member of the family.
How police suspicion turned to Zain
SSP Kishwar said police initially investigated three possible motives — property dispute, personal enmity and honour killing — as Zain’s father did not live with the family.
However, forensic teams found no signs of an outsider entering the house — no fingerprints, no footprints, no forced entry. This led investigators to question Zain closely, during which contradictions in his statements raised suspicion.
He eventually confessed and pointed police to the pistol bearing his fingerprints, confirming his involvement.
Police said Zain’s mother often scolded him for excessive gaming, which fueled his resentment and became a trigger for the crime. He was known to play for hours and would lose control when he failed to achieve targets.
PUBG Mobile 4.0 Spooky Soiree update out tomorrow
Neighbours said Dr Naheed Mubarak had lived with her family in Kahna’s LDA Chowk for 25 years. She ran her clinic on the ground floor of her multi-storey house.
Following the murders, Lahore police wrote to the Punjab police chief recommending that the PTA impose a nationwide ban on PUBG.