School pressures, heartbreak behind Hong Kong’s teenager suicides
By DPA, IANSTuesday, January 12, 2010
HONG KONG - Pressures over school work and broken hearts are the main reasons why Hong Kong teenagers commit suicide, a report published Wednesday said.
Fourteen teenagers killed themselves in 2006 with 10 of the suicides being blamed on schoolwork and relationships. All but one of the 14 jumped to their deaths from high-rise buildings.
The statistics are part of a review of child deaths being conducted by a panel of experts in the former British colony.
The review is aimed at identifying deficiencies in childcare in the city of 7 million and finding ways of preventing child deaths.
It found that of the 107 children who died in 2006, 61 died of natural causes, 20 died in accidents, 14 committed suicide and 12 died of assaults, medical complications or unknown causes.
Daniel Shek, a professor who examined the data on suicide cases, said children were more prone to love-related suicides than adults and needed more guidance on how to deal with relationship breakups.
The review also highlighted the problem of “home-alone” children with three of four deaths involving children who fell to their deaths from high-rise homes when they had been left unattended.
