Live online suicide raises concern in China

This photo shows a charcoal fire pan that a teenager uses to commit suicide and broadcaste live on his microblog on November 30. (Photo: xinhuanet)

A teenager in southwest China's Sichuan province committed suicide while broadcasting live on his microblog, Chinese Twitter-like service.

The man, Zeng, was found unconscious in his house by police on Sunday afternoon and taken to hospital where he died.

Prior to his suicide, he had posted dozens of microblogs, expressing depression and loneliness.

"I decided to leave the world after deep consideration, don't persuade me to live. I just hope it won't be too painful," read a typical post.

He prepared himself with hypnotic drugs, tapes and coal for suicide then took the drugs and burned the coal on Sunday morning.

"I cannot save myself any more as the drugs took effect and I lost strength completely..."wrote his last microblog.

Police started to search him after tip-offs.

"He told me that he fell in love with a girl online, but he was not sure whether she loved him," Zeng' s grandmother said, "His parents were divorced when he was 2 years old and he lived with his mother. However, some years later, his mother remarried. So he has since lived with me."

"I love you, but I' m sorry, I will disappear quickly," Zeng wrote before his death.

During the process, many tried to persuade Zeng not to do it, but to no avail. Others criticized him as an attention seeker.

"The process lasted for more than 4 hours, but it' s regrettable that we failed to save him," said a netizen.

Several similar cases have occurred in China.

"Such a case has a negative impact on society, especially those young men who have psychological problems. They may follow suit," said Zhang Mingsuo, a sociology professor at Zhengzhou University in central China's Henan province.

"The government should take timely measures to reduce such tragedies. Schools and communities should also provide psychological consulting to help prevent suicide attempts," he said.