Seoul , South Korea ( CNN ) -- Police have arrested a South Korean couple whose toddler starved to death while they were raising a virtual child online , authorities said . The couple fed their 3-month-old daughter once a day between marathon stretches in a local Internet cafe , where they were raising a virtual child in the fantasy role-playing game Prius Online , police told local reporters Friday . Prius Online is a 3-D game in which players nurture an online companion , Anima , a young girl with mysterious powers who grows and increases her skills as the game progresses . Police have not identified the 41-year-old father and 25-year-old mother , who lived in Suwon , a suburb south of Seoul . But the father apologized , speaking to reporters . `` I wish that she had n't got sick and that she will live well in heaven forever . And as the father , I am sorry , '' he said . The baby reportedly died five months ago . South Korea has one of the world 's fastest broadband networks . Seoul has won international awards for e-governance . Online gaming teams are sponsored by major conglomerates and 24-hour , high-speed Internet cafes , known as PC Bangs , dot every urban neighborhood . Police said the couple had lost their jobs and used the game as an escape from reality , especially after the birth of their premature baby . `` They instead played an online game in which they raised a virtual character so as to escape from reality , which led to the death of their real baby , '' Chung Jin-won , a police officer in Suwon , told Yonhap News Agency . `` South Korea remains a very conservative society so people who fall outside the norm can come under severe stress and pressure , '' said Michael Breen , the Seoul-based author of `` The Koreans . '' `` The Internet has provided such people with a paradise to escape to and simply get lost in . ''
Couple spent time in online game where they fed a virtual baby , police say . Meanwhile , they fed their real baby once a day , say , in South Korea . The year - old baby died of starvation , police say ; couple arrested last week . He says he 's sorry : ` ` I wish ... she will be well in heaven forever ''