Tragic: Hsueh Jun-Chen burned himself to death using gasoline after being told to stop playing computer games by his father in western Taiwan

A video game addict burned himself to death after being 'tipped over the edge' when his father told him to stop playing and get more sleep.

Online games fan Hsueh Jun-Chen, 22, had been in his room at his family home in the town of Fenyuan in western Taiwan when father Liu, 48, knocked on his door and told him to go to sleep.

The two then exchanged heated words and the father told his son he was fed up with his gaming and wanted him to stop.

But the next day he realised Hsueh was missing and when he went outside to look for him, he found the boy's charred remains 300 metres away - with empty bottles of petrol lying nearby.

Devastated Liu said: 'I had simply said that he should sleep rather than play because university was starting again after the holidays.

'He said he would and that's the last time I saw him alive.

'When I saw that he wasn't in his room the next day, I went into the garage to see if he had gone out on his motorbike.

'The bike was still there but I noticed that two cans of petrol were missing.

'That made me feel worried and I began to fear the worst.

'I could never have thought he would do something as extreme as this though.'

Stunned friends and staff at the Chienkuo University of Technology where Hsueh studied expressed their shock after hearing the tragic news.

Shocking: The 22-year-old's charred remains were discovered by his father Liu 300 metres from their home

Grisly: The blackened ground where the student set himself on fire can be seen above. Police said: 'It seems that the pressure of his studies and finding a job after graduation may have been a factor'

Teacher Li Hong said: 'I'm very, very surprised. He was such a bright boy; very smart, always did well in class. This is very sad and very unexpected.'

One of his friends, On Feng, 22, said: 'I am speechless.I knew he liked playing games, we often did it online together, and I knew he often stayed up late, but I just can't comprehend this.'

A police spokesman said: 'We are continuing our investigations but it seems that the pressure of his studies and finding a job after graduation may have been a factor and his father telling him to stop playing on the computer may have tipped him over the edge.'

Evidence: Empty gasoline bottles were discovered next to a shoe near to Hsueh Jun-Chen's body