Girl in coma after suicide attempt
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
A eight-year-old girl is in a coma at Sardjito Hospital in Yogyakarta after attempting to commit suicide on July 5.
Novia Anggi Fatono Bhakti has been in a coma since trying to commit suicide reportedly after failing to be promoted to the fourth grade at her elementary school.
The girl lives with her parents, father Sumirat and mother Siti Juariah, in Argomulyo village in Sedayu Bantul.
Sumirat, who works as a T-shirt maker, said that before her suicide attempt he told Anggi he could not afford to buy her a bicycle.
"I asked Anggi to be patient. At the time, she was watching a crime show on television that coincidentally was about a suicide attempt," Sumirat said.
He said that Anggi then went to her room and locked the door. At the same time, Anggi's brother cut himself and Sumirat wanted to get some antiseptic out of Anggi's room.
"When I knocked on the door and called her name, I did not get a reply. I broke into the room and found Anggi hanging from a rope," Sumirat said.
The head of the village Welfare Office, Wagiyanto, speculated that the girl attempted to kill herself after failing to be promoted to the fourth grade at SDN Pedes II elementary school in Argomulyo.
"Since failing to graduate she rarely played with her friends like she used to, instead staying at home," Wagiyanto said.
A spokesman at Sardjito Hospital, Tresnu Heru Nugroho, said Anggi's care was being paid for by Askes insurance for the poor.
Two years ago, Heriyanto, a resident of the Central Java town of Garut, attempted to commit suicide because he could not afford the Rp 2,500 (26 US cents) to pay for extracurricular activities at school. The boy suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the attempt.
On April 17 of this year, Bunyamin, a high school student in Tegal regency, killed himself after his parents were unable to pay his school fees. A week later, 15-year-old Eko Haryanto attempted suicide reportedly after being unable to pay his monthly school fees for the past nine months.
In May, five-year-old Renaldi Sembiring killed himself, reportedly after his parents refused to allow him to go to a friend's birthday party.