A 26-Year-Old Designer Died of Sudden Cardiac Death After Working Overtime 19 Days in a Month; Gaming Not Recognized as Work-Related Injury
In the late night of July 2025, 26-year-old Feng Yulang sent his wife, Xiao Fan, his last WeChat message: "Goodnight, my dear wife." The time stopped at 3:23 AM. The next day, when colleagues opened the office door, they found Feng Yulang lying on a folding chair, no longer breathing. The medical certificate of death coldly stated five words: sudden cardiac death.
The company where Feng Yulang worked was small, with only 3 people including Feng Yulang. There was no signed labor contract, no "five social insurances and one housing fund," but because of the professional match, the company leader appreciated and trusted him, Feng Yulang cherished this opportunity.
Xiao Fan said that her husband's company operated on a project basis, with irregular working hours. The day of the incident was the 19th day Feng Yulang had stayed in the office working overtime within a month, and he had also handled work late that night.
After Feng Yulang's death, all that was left for his family was a long struggle for their rights. Xiao Fan applied for work-related injury recognition for him, but was rejected by the Yulin Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security.
The reason given by the Bureau was that the time of Feng Yulang's death was more than 10 hours after normal working hours, and the records provided by the company showed that he had participated in team games from 1 AM to 3 AM that night.
Therefore, the Bureau determined that although Feng Yulang died in the company office, he had engaged in personal gaming activities for a long time after returning to the office, and rested on a folding bed in the early morning, so his death could not be considered as occurring "at work."
“He played games to relax, to regain energy and continue working,” Xiao Fan couldn’t accept this conclusion.
She pointed out that the screen of her husband’s computer showed that he had four architectural design software open at the time.
This administrative lawsuit regarding the “work-related injury” opened on April 10, 2026, and is currently awaiting the final judgment.