A child suffering from infantile autism looks out of the window at the Xining Orphan and Disabled Children Welfare Center on Dec. 17, 2005 in Xining of Qinghai Province, China. (Photo : Getty Images)
Police are investigating the death of an autistic boy at a controversial rehabilitation center in southern China known for using harsh exercises to treat a disease it describes as for "the rich and the lazy."
Four-year-old Lai Rijia, who hails from northeastern China's Liaoning Province, was found dead at a rehabilitation center in Guangzhou, according to a report from the South China Morning Post on Thursday.
His death came to light after a post on China's various social media platforms went viral online, claiming that the boy died after an intensive long walk.
The day before his death, the boy was allegedly forced to walk 10 kilometers in the morning and another 9 kilometers in the afternoon, according to the report.
The center, founded in 2013, was criticized for its approach to treating autism, including forcing children to walk up to 20 kilometers per day and making them wear thick coats and lie in makeshift incubators to "cure" them through sweating.
The facility itself is run by a self-taught medical practitioner Xia Dejun, who believes autism is due to wealthy families spoiling their children and allowing them to become lazy.
His center provides programs that center around building physical endurance through rigorous exercise as a means of helping children "recover" from what Xia calls a "rich man's disease."
Lai's mother, Zhang Wei, told the media that her son was running a high fever Wednesday night and his heart was beating unnaturally fast. The boy was rushed to the hospital where he died.
Zhang, who paid more than 31,200 yuan ($4,762) for a 21-month treatment course for her son at the center, said she is filing a lawsuit against the center.
"We had no other choice but to send Jia to this center, as there was nothing else available," Zhang told the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph. "For us, at least it provided a glimmer of hope."
In a statement released by the authorities in Guangzhou on Wednesday, the autopsy report revealed the Lai died of bleeding from the lungs and the swelling of the brain and have ruled out foul play.
The remaining 10 children at the center have since been returned home.
Police said executives at the center are cooperating with the investigations.
