A Chinese teenager sent to an internet addiction rehabilitation camp has allegedly been beaten to death by its counsellors, according to reports.
The camp had promised to put Deng Senshan, 15, under 24-hour supervision.
China is increasingly taking action against what it sees as a pandemic of web addiction.

Internet Addiction Rehabilitation Camp? Do these exist outside of China? Has anyone heard of this? I see how it might be a problem if not handled, but a rehabilitation camp seems excessive. Then again, it doesn’t surprise me that this could be a huge problem for China. Everything is censored, and teens will be…teens. I’m sure they’ve found ways around the censors; the internet may be the best thing in China, for Chinese teens and young adults.

Some estimates suggest up to 10% of the country’s 100 million teenage web users could be addicted, and a growing number of rehabilitation services exist.

It gets worse. What methods do these Chinese rehabilitation camps utilize to treat this addiction?

However, there is little consensus on how to treat the addiction. In July, China’s Ministry of Health formally banned the use of electroshock therapy as a treatment option.
According to the China Daily newspaper, an agreement the teenagers’ parents signed with the camp said: “The centre can take necessary approaches including punishment to educate the teenager, as long as the approaches will not abuse the child or impair his health.”

Well, at least they banned the use electroshock therapy. Was this an option at some point? I doubt that any reasonable person thinks that assaulting a teen in solitary confinement is a good treatment tool.

Camp staff are alleged to have put the teenager in solitary confinement on Saturday and then beaten him that evening.

Well, isn’t that special. *sigh*
BBC

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