A 16 year old teenager who was sent to an addiction clinic to cure his obsession to online gaming has been killed by the health professionals whose care he was in. Deng Senshan, who is part of approximately 10million Chinese teenagers who are addicted to online gaming, was sent by his parents to a residential clinic to help cure his problem. Ten hours later he had been killed.

Costing 7000yuan (£605), the teenager was taken to Guangxi Qihuang Survival Training Camp, where his father, Deng Fei, asked supervisors to avoid pressurising his son for the first few days due to his introverted and shy nature. However, shortly after arriving Senshan found himself in solitary confinement, before being beaten by trainers who chastised him for running slowly in a jogging exercise.

A police officer investigating the teenager’s death said “We are investigating a case where a high school student was beaten to death by his camp supervisors. The case is still under investigation.” So far they have made four arrests.

China currently has 338 million internet users, of which 100 million are teenagers. Mental health specialist Zhang Zhao said “I can tie my patients to the chair in front of me, but I cannot unlock their hearts. Nobody can cure addicts without their co-operation.” Meanwhile Zhan Wenbin who is principle of a similar centre for curing internet addicts said that physical training, mental consultation and complete immersion were needed to cure the obsession.

Mr Deng, Senshan’s father said “My son was very healthy and was not a criminal. He just had an internet addiction when I left him at the camp. We can’t believe our only son was beaten to death.”

Tagged as: Deng Senshan, Internet