A 14-year-old internet addict in Sichuan Province's Ziyang City poisoned his family after deeming his parents were too harsh on him, the Western China Metropolis Daily reported.

The four members of Xiaolong(pseudonym)'s family -- both his parents, elder brother and sister-in-law -- returned to a stable condition after receiving hospital treatment.

According to the newspaper, Xiaolong had left school a year earlier. Addicted to online games, he frequented internet cafés and occasionally stole money from his family to pay the fees.

To prevent him from playing in internet cafés, Xiaolong's brother bought him a personal computer, which turned out to be not as attractive to him.

A week before the tragedy, Xiaolong's mother scared him by threatening that if he frequented these cafés again, she would cut his hamstring. "I think he really bought it and bore me a grudge," she said.

On February 2, Xiaolong poured some pesticide into the cooking oil, poisoning the whole family that night, except for himself of course. "They are too harsh on me and don't allow me to play online games. If I kill them, no one can discipline me anymore. I will be comfortably free," Xiaolong told the paper, seemingly bearing no regrets.

"Xiaolong has been a quiet and docile boy", said one of his neighbors, "We should not scare him like that. I hope he comes to his senses and repents."

Li Huazhou, an associate consultant from the city's education bureau, suggested that parents pay more attention to their children's psychological changes and avoid "verbal violence," which may in turn actually stimulate extreme behavior.

Li also urged local governments to intensify their supervision over internet cafés and purify the environment for minors.

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