Three-year-old Lai Rijia (Jia) died after undergoing a gruelling regime at a controversial therapy centre meant to ‘cure’ him of his condition (Picture: CEN)

A three-year-old autistic boy has died after undergoing a series of gruelling exercise regimes at a controversial Chinese centre set up to ‘cure’ children of the ‘disease’.

Lai Rijia’s body was found at the rehabilitation centre in Guangzhou, China, last Wednesday.

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He was reportedly made to walk 10km in the morning and another 9km the day before his death, wearing a thick overcoat.

According to reports, his mother, Zhang Wei, had paid more than £3,000 for three months of treatment at the controversial centre.


The centre, run by self-taught medical practitioner Xia Dejun, allegedly forces children to lie in makeshift incubators to ‘cure’ them through sweating.



Dejun, who believes the condition is a result of wealthy families spoiling their children, provides programmes built on physical endurance and gruelling workouts to help children ‘recover’.

Mrs Zhang said her son, also known as Jia, had a high fever and had an unnaturally fast heartbeat on the day of his death.

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He was rushed to hospital but sadly died.

She told The Telegraph: ‘We had no other choice but to send Jia to this centre, as there was nothing else available. For us, at least it provided a glimmer of hope.’

She added that she will be suing Mr Xia and wants other parents to know the dangers of his treatment.

Speaking to a Shanghai-based media outlet, Sixth Tone, Mr Xia said: ‘Ask other parents. They will say my training works.

‘The child died at a hospital from an illness. It has nothing to do with my rehab centre.’