Teen Dies After Two Days at ‘Gentle’ Internet Addiction Camp in China

While the 18-year-old’s cause of death is not yet known, doctors who examined the boy revealed that he had several internal injuries, and sustained over 20 external injuries as well.

According to the BBC, the Chinese teen’s mother, surnamed Liu, was able to see the shocking state of her son’s lifeless body.

“My son’s body was completely covered in scars, from tip to toe,” explained Liu. The teenager’s parents had high hopes for the treatment center in Fuyang, since the facility promised a more gentle approach to physical activity and counseling. China’s internet addiction camps are notorious for their brutal treatment methods that have claimed the lives of many children in the past.

According to The Washington Post, the Chinese teenager’s parents willingly paid 22,800 yuan ($3,414) to the internet addiction facility so that their son could stay there for 180 days. However, the couple’s efforts only ended in disappointment and grief as the boy’s father recalled the traumatic ordeal saying, “It hadn’t been 48 hours since we dropped him off, after a day-and-a-half, our child was gone.”

Authorities have since shut down the internet addiction center’s operations while investigation is underway. The treatment facility’s director and staff members were also held by the police following the incident.

Check out the video report of the incident below:

Internet addiction has become so prominent in China that it was referred to as a “clinical disorder” back in 2008. While internet addiction facilities are hoping to address the big problem, it seems that these centers are also becoming a part of it.

Numerous internet addiction boot camps have built a notorious reputation for subjecting their patients to harsh treatments and physical abuse. There have been cases of patients at these camps being beaten up by trainers as well as subjected to electric shock therapy.

There have also been various cases in the past of patients dying after being checked into these types of facilities.