The crimes committed by the youngsters included robbery, extortion and abetting in burglary, according to the juvenile crime department of the Zhabei District Prosecutor's Office.

"We found most of the delinquents had no stable income and were addicted to surfing in Internet cafes. As a result, the cafe charges became an excuse for them to commit crime," said Chen Yu of the department.

In three cases handled by Chen, all 12 suspects were 16 and 17 years old.

Chen said the delinquents often began by extorting from younger students and later moved on to robbery to gain more money.

For instance, two boys, surnamed Zhou and Gao, were arrested for allegedly committing more than 10 robberies since last October, he said.

Chen said many of their crimes took place immediately after the duo had finished surfing and were looking for more money.

Liu Xiangbiao, Chen's colleague, told of a fourth case in which three young men, surnamed Huang, Zuo and Gong, allegedly coerced two timid school students to steal.

"The two boys were just Grade One students in a junior middle school," said Liu. "The suspects picked the targets, like mobile phone shops, clothes stores and book kiosks, then forced the boys to steal. The trio would spend the money in hotels and restaurants as well as Internet parlors."

Between last November and February, the boys stole property valued at 9,000 yuan (US$1,084) for the trio, Liu said.

At the end of February, when one of the boys refused to toe the line, the trio stabbed him in the leg.

(Eastday.com June 4, 2003)