Chinese internet addict 'beaten to death' - Telegraph

Chinese internet addict 'beaten to death' - Telegraph: "Chinese internet addict 'beaten to death'
A 16-year-old Chinese boy has allegedly been beaten to death by managers at a rehabilitation centre for internet addiction.


By Malcolm Moore in Beijing
Published: 6:55PM BST 04 Aug 2009

Three supervisors who were trying to cure Deng Senshan of his compulsive computer use have been arrested after he died on Sunday.

'We are investigating a case where a high school student was beaten to death by his camp supervisors. The case is still under investigation,' a police officer in Nanning, Guangxi province, told the Chinese state media.

The boy's father, Deng Fei, said he had paid 7,000 yuan (£605) for his son to spend a month at the Guangxi Qihuang Survival Training camp, which promised to rid the boy of his problems.

'My son was very healthy and was not a criminal. He just had an internet addiction when I left him at the camp,' he said. 'We can't believe our only son was beaten to death.'

He claimed the boy had been put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival and then beaten by supervisors who were upset he was running too slowly.

There are several internet addiction boot camps in China, and the government has recently cautioned one hospital in the north of the country for u"