"Internet addict" teen beaten to death in "personality training program"

According to Netease, a junior high school graduate, Deng, who hadn't yet turned 16 was beaten into death around 3AM yesterday in Nanning city of Guangxi province, as part of his training to build confidence and correct bad habits.

On August 1st, Deng entered the "Guangzhou Determined Youth Growth Guidance Center(广州励志青少年成长辅导中心)" in Nanning. Before entering, Deng's parents paid 7000RMB and signed a "Guidance Contract" with the center. The goal of the youth training program was to "help children build their confidence, independence; correct children's bad habits while they grow up (为了帮助孩子树立自信、自立的人生观，矫正孩子成长过程中出现的不良习惯)."

The training program, which lasts 30 days, is designed to put the kids under 24 hours a day surveillance. In the contract, it also states, "The training center may give the children moderate level of harshness and reprimand, with the limit of not hurting the children's health (甲方不排除对孩子进行适度的苦难教育、惩戒教育，以不虐待孩子或不损害孩子的身体健康为限)."

However, apparently the school didn't quite follow that last line, treating the children like dirt. Deng was beaten to death just two days after he entered the program.

Deng's parents said they had sent him to the program to cure his serious internet addiction, but besides that one aspect, he was a good boy. The day before he had entered the program, he had taken a swim with his parents in the North Sea and even saved a middle-aged woman from drowning.

Nobody knows why Deng was even beaten in the first place - the school has remained surprisingly mum about the issue - but police at the Nanning Public Security Bureau have detained the people suspected of administering the violence and are investigating the case further.

There was no word about whether the school would be shut down pending investigation. While we are heartbroken for what happened to Deng, we wonder why his parents thought his internet addiction required such harsh treatment. We also worry for the more than 100 children still in this "youth guidance center" being "trained."