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Chinese teenager dies at illegal gaming addiction treatment camp

Youth suffered multiple injuries two days after being sent to centre

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The teenager, named as Li Ao, died two days after being sent to the centre. Photo: Handout
Tracy Hu

An 18-year-old from eastern China is reported to have died from multiple injuries after he was sent to an internet addiction treatment camp.

The young man, identified as Li Ao from Anhui province, was confirmed dead on August 5 – two days after he started receiving gaming addiction treatment at the camp, according to a report from Anhuinews.com.

The camp, named as the“Positive Energy Education Centre”, has been ordered to close and its director and staff detained by police.

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The boy’s mother, surnamed Liu, was quoted as saying that she sent her son to the centre after she became concerned that he was becoming addicted to the internet and was unwilling to go to school.

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She visited the website of a treatment centre in Baishan township in Lujiang county offering “psychological counselling and physical training”. The website highlighted what it claimed were a number of successful treatments.

A postmortem examination found the young man had suffered more than 20 external injuries. Photo: Handout
A postmortem examination found the young man had suffered more than 20 external injuries. Photo: Handout
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