Passengers stare at their cellphones on a subway in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo: VCG

A 10-year-old boy who ran away from home for more than a dozen times was found by police at a subway station in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, on Sunday.

Surprisingly, the boy told the local police that he didn't do it because he had been naughty. He said it was protesting his parents' neglect, since they were incessantly playing games on their phone when not busy at work.

Police said they have warned the boy of the dangers of running away.  "I will run straight to your police office if there is a next time," the boy replied, according to Nanjing Police.  

Police also contacted the boy's father, who promised he would break his smartphone addiction.

Predictably, many Chinese Net users expressed sympathy for the boy and chastised the parents. 

"You should turn off your phone and be with your child instead of ignoring him," a Weibo user wrote. 

"Although the parents have set a bad example, they remind us that we should be more responsible and caring about our kids' feelings," said another. 

Global Times