Teenager cut off his own HAND to try and cure internet addiction

4 Feb 2015, China- A Chinese teenager cut off his own hand in a drastic move to cure his internet addition.

The 19-year-old from Nantong in the Jiangsu province was rushed to hospital after using a kitchen knife to severe his left hand.

Local broadcaster Jianngu TV reported that the youth had chopped his arm off while sitting

on a public bench.

The teenager's mother had gone into his room last Wednesday night to find it empty with a note from her son.

The note said: "Mum, I have gone to hospital for a while,

“Don't worry. I will definitely come back this evening."

The teenager, known only as "Little Wang" had smuggled a kitchen knife from his home and made his way out of the house.

He cut his left arm at the wrist and left the hand lying on the ground while he called a taxi to take him to a nearby A&E.

The surgeons at the local university hospital were able to reattach the hand which was recovered by police.

But they were not able to guarantee that he would regain full mobility.

One of the boy’s teachers blamed his actions on an internet addiction which had made him “impetuous”.

China currently has about 24 million "web junkies" according to official figures and a number of military-style bootcamps springing up to help sufferers deal with the addiciton.

Young people with an internet addiction may start by skipping lessons at school with some so severely addicted rarely leave their bedrooms and all their interaction happens online.

Tao Ran, an army psychologist who runs a well-known Beijing rehab centre for internet addicts, estimated around 14% of China's young people were addicted.

He said: “They only do two things: sleeping and playing.”