The 18-year-old had supposedly sustained many injuries, and the center’s executive and staff members have been held by police, according to the news.
The event took site beginning this month in eastern Anhui area.
China has witnessed an increase in so-called “boot camps” directed at operating internet and gaming addictions.
Some are recognized for their military-style training and have been scrutinized for overly harsh practices.
‘Completely covered with scars’
In the latest conflict in Anhui, the teen’s parent surnamed Liu stated her son had acquired a severe internet addiction which she and her husband were helpless to help.
The parents then determined to send their son to a center in Fuyang city which praised to use a mixture of “psychological counseling and physical education” to treat kids for their internet addictions, told the Anhui Shangbao newspaper.
But the parents said they were informed by doctors who checked their son’s body that he had nurtured more than 20 external injuries, as well as many internal injuries. They were permitted to see his body in the morgue.
“My son’s body was fully covered with scars, from top to toe… When I sent my son to the center he was still fine, how could he have died in 48 hours?” Ms. Liu was quoted as telling in Anhui Shangbao.
State broadcaster CCTV said the center’s executive and four teaching assistants have remained held by police, and officials have shut down the center while inquiries are ongoing.
In the wake of the event, many online and in paper editorials called for tighter control of addiction treatment centers but also criticized the teenager’s parents.
“In the end, this is due to a shortage of family education,” said one commenter on microblogging platform Sina Weibo.
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