12-year-old commits suicide by burning herself

12-year-old commits suicide by burning herself

Suherdjoko and Dewi Santoso, Brebes/Jakarta

Another suicide case involving a child has tragically struck a
poor family in Central Java. This time, a 12-year old elementary
school girl took her own life by setting herself ablaze.

Khodijah, an student at the Klampok II elementary school in
Wanasari district, Brebes regency, committed suicide on
Wednesday. Her body was buried on Thursday after a hospital
autopsy.

Wanasari Police chief First Insp. Miswanto said Khodijah was
reported to have set herself ablaze on Wednesday afternoon at her
home, which by coincidence is not far from the local police
station.

Neighbors tried to save the schoolgirl, who suffered burns to
most parts of her body, and took her to the Bhakti Asih Hospital
in Wanasari, Miswanto said.

Khodijah was still able to speak at the time, and asked for a
drink of water. But she died later on Wednesday night, Miswanto
recounted.

Khodijah had reportedly told those who tried to save her that
she felt she was no longer loved by her mother, and that it was
better that she die.

Her father, Datam, 38, admitted that his wife, Karsih, 35, had
been harsh with Khodijah. The parents, who have another daughter,
Sriharyati, and a son, Raisno, were shocked by Khodijah's death.

Miswanto explained that before committing suicide, Khodijah
had visited her mother, who works at a shop some 500 meters away
from their home. She had not gone to school that day as she was
on holiday for one week as sixth year students were sitting their
final exams.

After meeting with her mother, she returned home. Hours later,
neighbors saw her running out of the house in flames.

Miswanto and other neighbors immediately tried to help
Khodijah and took her to the hospital.

Her body was buried in the public cemetery in Klampok village.

On May 12, another elementary school student in Cilacap
regency, Central Java, also committed suicide. Enggar Tri
Handoko, 13, took his own life by hanging after his father had
become angry with him.

Earlier this year, another elementary student also committed
suicide in his home in Semarang for unclear reasons.

The most high-profile case was when 12-year-old student
Heryanto attempted to kill himself at his home in Garut regency,
West Java, on Aug. 22, 2003. As a result of the injuries he
sustained during the attempt, he spent weeks in a coma.

Heryanto tried to take his own life by hanging himself with a
plastic cable. He was reportedly distraught that his parents
could not afford to pay the Rp 2,500 his teacher had requested
for school equipment.

Heryanto's case caught the attention of senior government
officials, including West Java Governor Danny Setiawan and
Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono X, who visited him in the
hospital.

On May 4, a 13-year-old boy, Agus Surayana, was in left in bad
condition after attempting to kill himself at his grandmother's
house in Cisarua, Lembang, near the West Java capital of Bandung.

His grandmother, Emi, said she believed her grandson had
attempted suicide because she had not immediately responded to
his request for Rp 5,000.

Commenting on the increasing incidence of suicide cases, child
psychologist Seto Mulyadi said on Thursday that suicide cases
among children were not uncommon, and had been happening since
the 1970s.

"It's just that nowadays such cases have attract more people's
attention as they receive a lot of media exposure," he said.

Seto said the suicides were most probably triggered by
example, fantasy, and the TV shows and news children watched on
television or things they read about in publications.

"Many factors, such as family, school and friends can also
trigger depression," he said.

He pointed out that when parents experienced financial
difficulties, they could sometimes become temperamental, which
could in turn make their children depressed.

"Schools are another factor because teachers sometimes can be
insensitive to students who are often burdened with a lot of
homework, which puts them in a stressed situation," Seto told The
Jakarta Post.