Student in coma after suicide attempt

Student in coma after suicide attempt

BANDUNG: A 12-year-old student has been in a coma for 12 days
after attempting to kill himself at his home in Garut regency,
West Java.

Heryanto is being treated at Hasan Sadikin Hospital in the
West Java capital of Bandung. The elementary school student from
Garut Kota subdistrict had been treated at Dr. Slamet Hospital in
Garut until being transferred to Bandung on Aug. 25.

He attempted to commit suicide on Aug. 22 by hanging himself
with a plastic cable. He was reportedly upset because his teacher
had asked him to pay Rp 2,500 (30 US cents) for school equipment,
but his parents could not afford the money.

Dr. Suganda Tanuwidjaja, who is treating the patient at Hasan
Sadikin Hospital, said Heryanto was suffering from oedema
cerebrikini due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.

This could lead to "intelligence degradation", paralysis and
other disabilities if the patient recovers from the coma, he
said.

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