School student commits suicide<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang, Central Java<\/p>\n
An elementary school student was found dead in his house here on
\nTuesday, in an apparent suicide.<\/p>\n
The body of Bambang Surono Suratman, a fifth-year student, was
\nfound hanging by a selendang (a stole commonly worn by Javanese
\nwomen) by his mother Juminem in a bedroom they shared.<\/p>\n
The motive behind the suicide is unknown.<\/p>\n
It was the second suicide attempt by an elementary school
\nstudent after another boy in the West Java town of Garut,
\nHeryanto, hung himself on Aug. 22 after he found out his parents
\ncould not afford to pay Rp 2,500 (30 US cents) for school
\nstationery.<\/p>\n
Heryanto survived, but suffered permanent brain damage.<\/p>\n
Juminem said she woke her 11-year-old son up for school that
\nmorning. She said Bambang got up, before she went to the kitchen
\nto boil water. Shortly afterwards, Juminem saw Bambang reentering
\nthe bedroom.<\/p>\n
Juminem said she noticed that her son did not come out of the
\nbedroom to take a bath while she was busy boiling water and
\ncooking. Anxious, she went to the bedroom and found it was locked
\nfrom the inside.<\/p>\n
\"My husband and I were surprised to find that he had hung
\nhimself with a selendang,\" said Juminem in tears.<\/p>\n
The selendang, belonging to Juminem, was tied to a wooden beam
\non the ceiling. Apparently, Bambang used a chair to reach the
\nbeam, said Juminem.<\/p>\n
Bambang's father, Parno, is a construction worker, while his
\nmother is a laundrywoman. They live in a modest house in Kramas
\nsubdistrict, Tembalang district, some four kilometers from
\ndowntown Semarang.<\/p>\n
Bambang's body was sent to Karyadi Hospital for an autopsy.<\/p>\n
Tri Purwadi, Bambang's teacher at Bulusan elementary school in
\nTembalang district, said he had not noticed anything unusual
\nabout Bambang behavior and his relationship with his classmates.<\/p>\n
However, he noticed that Bambang had skipped classes recently,
\nprompting his parents to accompany him to school.<\/p>\n
Purwadi said Bambang had a poor academic record this school
\nyear.<\/p>\n
\"He (Bambang) ranked last among 27 students in his class,\"
\nsaid Purwadi, referring to the students' mid-semester academic
\nreport.<\/p>\n
The teacher dismissed speculation that economic reasons were
\nbehind the suicide. He said that Bambang's family had no problem
\npaying school fees, which had always been paid on time.<\/p>\n
However another teacher, Siswadi, said Bambang had displayed
\nstrange behavior when he was in the fourth year. He recounted the
\nday when Bambang's parents found their son hanging around in a
\nbird market around seven kilometers from school.<\/p>\n
\"He (Bambang) told me he went to the market on foot,\" Siswadi
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n
Purwadi added Bambang had looked strange in the past two weeks
\nbefore he died.<\/p>\n
\"He quite often dressed up as a clown, had his face made up
\nand put balls inside his shirt so that he looked like he had
\nbreasts. He danced during recess and it made his friends laugh,\"
\nPurwadi said.<\/p>\n
Classes were suspended on Tuesday as students and teachers
\nmourned the death of Bambang.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/school-student-commits-suicide-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}