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Internet addiction 'boot camps' have gained notoriety in recent weeks after stories emerged of brutal treatments and even deaths, but they have nevertheless proven to be major money-spinners for their owners.
Hunan businessman Wen Weijun, who established the Guangzhou Qihang Survival Training Camp in 2007, made more than 4.2 million yuan (HK$ 4.77 million) in just two months last summer, the Southern Metropolis News reported.
The newspaper reported that the 28-year-old, who did not attend university, copied the business model from Hunan and was the first to introduce it to Guangzhou.
Mr Wen has since opened branches of the camp in Zhanjiang , in southeastern Guangdong, last October, and in Nanning , Guangxi, in May this year.
The newspaper reported Mr Wen had told business partners that profit from each student was as high as 80 per cent. Qihang enrolled 600 students last summer. 
With fees of at least 10,000 yuan for two months, its revenue was 6 million yuan in just one summer, the report said.
Qihang's brutal methods were exposed after the death of a student at the Nanning camp.
State media reported that last year a student suffered kidney failure after being beaten by trainers at Qihang's base in the Panyu district of Guangzhou. Qihang reportedly paid 30,000 yuan in compensation and changed its name.
But the name change did not end the culture of violence.
Last month, 15-year-old Deng Senshan was beaten to death within 24 hours of his arrival at Qihang's Nanning camp. Police released 122 youngsters from the closed-door camp and arrested four suspects.
Guangzhou authorities closed Qihang's camp in Panyu last Friday, releasing more than 200 teenagers who complained about the brutal treatment.
State media reported another death yesterday, a 14-year-old boy who suffered kidney failure after repeated beatings at a camp in Sichuan last week.
Boot camps have sprung up in recent years in response to growing concerns from parents about their teenage children spending too much time on the internet. The start-up nature of the industry means there are no professional standards or recognised methods of treatment.
Recently, a camp that claimed it could cure internet addiction through electroshock therapy was ordered to stop the treatment.
Zhan Wenbin, principal of the Changsha-based Top Youth Behaviour Tutorial School, said it was time to regulate the industry.
Mr Zhan said he was concerned about an ongoing series of incidents, and he called on other entrepreneurs to adopt a professional approach rather than merely rely on physical punishment.



Net addiction 'boot camps' earn small fortunes for operators