The Ministry of Culture (MOC) on Monday reported that several cyber cafes had been found to serve minors, despite the law, and they contained safety risks, citing results of an inspection.

The anonymous inspection of 2,789 cultural facilities, which ran from Aug. 1 to 7, covered cyber cafes, entertainment venues and publication firms in 15 provincial regions, with a focus on the operations of 1,657 Internet cafes, said a statement released Monday by the ministry.

The inspection found that some cyber cafes served minors, allowed smoking or had safety risks such as blocked emergency exits.

Chinese regulations ban Internet cafes from serving minors. While urban cafes have mostly adhered to the ban, many in city outskirts and rural areas, where supervision is slack, have flouted the rules for profit.

The issue was exposed in central Hunan Province when an Internet cafe provided shelter to three students between the ages of 11 and 13 after they allegedly battered a teacher with sticks and choked her to death last year. They were later detained by the police and sent to a special school for minor offenders.

The inspection also discovered some stores selling illegal books, audio and visual products, and found that most art dealers had not formally registered or provided details about their products, such as artists' name, date of creation, size, materials and price. Some entertainment venues were found to be operating illegal gaming or karaoke machines.

Calling for strengthened patrols and supervision, the ministry urged local authorities to verify the violations that had been exposed and punish offenders in accordance with the law.

The ministry encouraged the public to provide tips on illegal cultural activities, adding that it would launch further inspections in problematic areas and vowing severe punishment for repeat offenders.

Source : XINHUA