Fight club for young orphans sparks outrage

CHENGDU: A fight club for children here has sparked outrage, prompting the police to launch an investigation. The Enbo Fight Club came to light after Pear Video, a popular video site in China, produced a short documentary on it.
The documentary shows two 12-year-old boys fighting each other in a caged arena surrounded by a crowd. Their coach said the club manages the children's money from the fights.
The founder of the club said he gets orphaned and "left-behind" children by the Civil Affairs Bureau. However, children who do not meet the club's high standards are sent back, he added.
The club in the Chinese province of Sichuan trains more than 400 young fighters, many of whom are orphans, in mixed martial arts (MMA).
The fight club supervisor Zhu Guanghui confirmed the police were investigating and said the club was cooperating with the authorities, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Monday.
There are an estimated 61 million "left-behind" children in China — children from rural areas whose parents have moved to cities to work.
The video has more than 12 million views on China's popular video-hosting service Miaopai.