( CNN ) -- A South Korean couple arrested for allowing their baby to starve to death had been raising an online child , state media reported citing police sources . The couple , residents of a Seoul suburb , allegedly neglected their prematurely born three-month-old daughter , feeding her just once a day in between 12-hour stretches at a neighborhood internet cafe , the official Yonhap news agency reported . Police said the couple had become obsessed with raising a virtual girl character called `` Anima '' in `` Prius Online '' , a popular role-playing game in South Korea . `` The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life , because they did n't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby , '' said Chung Jin-won , a police officer . `` They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality , which led to the death of their real baby . '' Professor Kwak Dae-kyung of Seoul 's Dongguk University told the Yonhap news agency that the couple appeared to have lost track of reality . `` Online game addiction can blur the line between reality and the virtual world . It seems that taking care of their on-line game character erased any sense of guilt they may have had for neglecting their daughter . '' Dae-kyung urged the government to prepare measures so that families and neighbors can contact local authorities or hospitals if anyone shows symptoms of online addiction . `` This kind of situation is not a problem that an individual can solve , '' he said .
Couple reportedly saw baby daughter just once a day while at a cafe . The young couple had been obsessed with role - playing games , state media reported . Caring for their online baby erased any sense of guilt , said actress Kwak In - kyung .