Customers at an Internet cafe in Shanghai allegedly stabbed to death two employees after an argument over computer usage, local newspapers reported Monday.
The fight broke out around 1 a.m. local time on Sunday after a cafe employee told several customers they would have to buy membership cards if they wanted to stay overnight. Such venues often offer lower nighttime access rates to cater to computer game enthusiasts.
Another employee attempted to mediate the dispute, but about 10 men drew knives and chased the pair into a bathroom where they stabbed them to death, the reports said.
Chinese critics have repeatedly attacked Internet cafes for providing access to websites focused on pornography, gambling and criticism of the Communist party, as well as being havens for school dropouts and young people addicted to online games.
Thousands of cafes were closed and rules were tightened after a pair of teenagers set fire to an Internet cafe in Beijing in June 2002 after a fight with managers. Twenty-five people were killed in the blaze, many of them college students.
News source: CNews
