A man is unable to speak or move after injuring himself while playing a boxing simulation game at an arcade in Foshan two months ago, Shenzhen Satellite Television reports. The family of A Zhen (alias), 29, owes several hundred thousand yuan in hospital fees and is unlikely to get compensation from the venue itself as there was a written warning on the machine on which he was playing.

It all started when A Zhen went to get his phone fixed, and, feeling bored while waiting, went to a gaming hall. After putting on a glove and playing on a boxing simulator, he hit the target with more force than was appropriate. Three days later, after going to sleep, he woke up unable to move or talk. His family and wife have been at his bedside in hospital feeding him ever since.

Doctors say the force of his punch gave him congenital stenosis of the cervical spinal canal. He received surgery shortly after being hospitalised but has shown no signs of recovery.