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Boy kills mother over internet restrictions

Friday June 15, 2007

BEIJING - A teenage boy in southern China, "heavily addicted" to the Internet, killed his mother and severely injured his father with a kitchen knife after he was refused money to go to a cybercafe, state media said on Thursday.

Wang, from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, stabbed his mother to death at home during a heated argument, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

"After his father got home, Wang hacked at him causing serious injury. Seeing what he had done, Wang went to his room and sat on his bed," the paper said.

Wang's father ran bleeding to his brother's house, who then alerted the police, it said.

Wang had resolved to kill his parents a month earlier, and had once prepared to kill his father with an iron bar. He had also recently bought sleeping pills, the paper said.

Wang, who was "less than 16" but had left school a year before, would spend his spare time in Internet cafes when not working for his father who made a living selling barbecue food in their neighbourhood.

He had dreamed of being an outstanding politician or economist and believed his parents were stifling his development, the paper said.

China has seen an alarming rise in the number of Internet addicts in recent years, who it says may be responsible for up to 80 percent of juvenile crime.

In recent months, China has banned the opening of new cybercafes in 2007 and issued orders limiting the time Internet users can spend playing online games.