Police investigate boy’s fatal beating at boot camp
Print Edition
The boss of a boot camp for children and six of his staff have been detained following the alleged beating to death of a 15-year-old boy at the facility.
The incident happened on March 22 at the Ourui camp in the southwest China city of Chongqing, the Legal Daily yesterday cited police as saying.
Zou Jiahang was sent to the facility, which claims to work with children with behavioral problems, after being suspended from school. Within 15 hours of his arrival, he was dead.
Doctors were quoted as saying the boy was dead on arrival at hospital, and that his body was “black and blue” with bruises.
The report said that both the police and the local government have launched investigations into the incident, though few details have been released.
Zou’s parents are said to have visited the boot camp on March 24, but were refused entry.
On March 27, the facility closed its doors voluntarily and its 97 “students” were sent home, the report said.
Several of the youngsters who met Zou were quoted as saying he was “severely beaten for several hours” after being caught trying to run away.
When one of them checked on him about 11pm on March 22 and found his body cold to the touch, an ambulance was called and the boy was taken to hospital, the report said.
The Ourui facility was opened by the Hechuang training school. It claims to help children with problems such as Internet addiction, and to nurture their interest in learning.
But the camp was run like a military facility, where students were made to wear uniforms, and forced to adhere to a strict regime, the report said.
Former “student” Xiao Cheng said beatings were common.
“Being disobedient, complaining about something or even just looking at an instructor in the wrong way was enough to get a severe beating,” he said.
Former resident Yang Na said: “I was beaten and slapped in the face. I had to admit to doing wrong to avoid being kicked.”
The reign of terror meant most children were too scared to speak out.
Former resident Cheng Wu said: “The instructors never allowed us to talk about what was going on. Anyone that did was likely to end up dead.”
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