Suicide attempt changes a child

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Two years after his suicide attempt, 14-year-old Heriyanto is not the same boy he used to be. After undergoing a series of different medical treatments, the first of three siblings now has to spend most of his days at a Bandung psychiatric hospital.

"His IQ is only around 50, and his way of thinking is almost similar to a five-year-old child. His intelligence can't recover because much of his brain's neurosystems are damaged," Dr. Lelly Rema, head of the children and youth mental health unit at the hospital, said in Bandung on Monday.

The native of the Central Java town of Garut suffered permanent brain damage after trying to hang himself in July 2003 with a phone cable. He reportedly felt ashamed he could not afford to pay Rp 2,500 (26 U.S. cents) to buy materials for his extracurricular activities.

At the time of the attempt, Heriyanto was a six grader at SD Muara Sanding II elementary school in Garut city. He survived although blood flow to his brain stopped for more than five minutes.

After the incident he was treated at Hasan Sadikin Bandung for more two months and then went through regular medical checkups at the hospital once a month.

He was returned to Hasan Sadikin last month after becoming aggressive at home.

A doctor at the hospital said his parents could not afford to take him to the hospital during the past two months because they did not have transportation money.

"Yanto is experiencing arrested development or medium mental retardation with behavioral and emotional problems," said Lelly, who takes care of him at the hospital.

The aggressive behavior, she said, was caused by a communication problem that made it difficult for Heriyanto to protest or show his dissatisfaction.

After his suicide attempt, she said, Heriyanto could not clearly identify his surrounding neighborhood and only had a small capacity for memory, which meant he could recognize a limited number of signs and faces.

He would probably need medical therapy to maintain his emotional stability and physiotherapy to train his motor skills for the rest of his life, she said.

The family's health card entitles Heriyanto to free medication at the hospital, however, his parents could not afford to constantly pay for the Bandung-Garut transportation expenses.

"We're told that his parents' house, built from the donation money, is now mortgaged to raise the transportation money," Lelly said.

Heriyanto's case became news headlines two years ago, putting attention on the country's education system and prompting concerned donators to send the family some Rp 100 million (US$10,526) in donations.

Unfortunately, many more children in the country have tried to follow Heriyanto's path.

Three students, one only six years old, have attempted or committed suicide during the past five weeks. On April 17, Bunyamin, a high school student in Tegal regency, hung himself after his parents were unable to pay his school fees. A week later, 15-year-old Eko Haryanto attempted to hang himself, reportedly after not having paid his monthly tuition fees for nine months.

The most recent case took place on Saturday when a five-year- old, Renaldi Sembiring, hung himself. Reports said his parents had refused to allow him to go to a friend's birthday party.