A 16-year-old boy has been rescued from an Internet cafe where he spent more than four days playing computer games and chatting online.

The boy, surnamed Xie, left home with 200 yuan (US$24) last Thursday and went to a Net cafe on downtown Changhua Road.

His mother went to the cafe on Monday afternoon and tried to persuade him to give up playing computers, but Xie refused to go home and climbed up to the roof of the cafe.

Exhausted and cold in the rain, the boy fainted as rescuers reached him and was taken to nearby Changzheng Hospital.

Doctors said that he was suffering only exhaustion.

Yesterday, when Shanghai Daily visited Xie's home on downtown Yongjia Road, both the boy and his mother were reluctant to talk about the issue.

"The most important thing is my son came back home safely. I don't want to say anything more," said Xie's mother surnamed Su.

Xie had spent all his money in the Net cafe and was trying to borrow money from the cafe boss, when he was spotted by a neighbor who later reported the boy's whereabouts to his mother.

Internet cafes are forbidden to open after midnight and no one under 18 is allowed to enter, according to a regulation issued by the State Council last November.

Proprietors violating the rule can be fined from 5,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan. People found breaking the rule three times can have their business license revoked.

But officials said students are still frequently found playing in local Net cafes, or even staying overnight like Xie.

"Both the society and family, as well as Internet addicts' schools, are to be blamed for such incidents," said Zhang Youde, a sociologist at Shanghai University.

Only when the community and school authorities take more effective measures, can students be prevented from breaking the rule.

Families should also care more, rather than spoiling their children, Zhang said.

(Shanghai Daily April 14, 2004)