JOHOR BARU: Relatives and acquaintances of a 12-year-old boy who hanged himself at his home in Felda Cahaya Baru, Masai here on Wednesday, are still trying to come to grips with what had happened.
It was reported yesterday that the boy, who was living with his adoptive family, had been suffering from deep depression since the death of his father three years ago.
But Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said he had read a full report on the boy, prepared by the Johor Education Department, which indicated that he had no disciplinary problems and his school attendance was regular.
Mahdzir, who visited the boy's adoptive family in Felda Cahaya Baru, spoke with the boy’s adoptive mother, Sapiah Omar, 60.
She said that the boy was his usual self in the days leading up to his death.
Asiah Mat, 57, a relative who found the boy’s body in the house’ kitchen, said he was behaving as normal just moments before he died.
"He sat on the chair and spoke to me as usual, before saying he wanted to go take a bath," Asiah said.
The boy was the youngest of Sapiah’s three adopted children.
Meanwhile, at the boy’s school – Sekolah Rendah Cahaya Baru Masai – two of his teachers, Farah Sidin, 36 and Rashidah Mohamad, 41, revealed that they were shocked to learn of his death.
"He was jovial. He got along well with other students, especially girls. He loved singing and he was also selected to be a school librarian," Rashidah said.
In the wake of the tragedy, Mahdzir has called on teachers and principals to view the matter of student self-harm and suicide seriously, urging them to alert school councillors and call up parents for meetings if they find anything amiss with a pupil.
"We don't know why a boy, at such a young age, would choose this path" he added.
Also present during the visit was state education director, Shaharudin Sharif.
On Wednesday, the boy had hung himself in the kitchen of his house.
His body was discovered by Asiah at 4.25pm.
Police received a distress call on the incident and rushed to the residence, but the body had already been brought down by neighbours by the time officers arrived.
The case has been classified as “sudden death”.