By Yang Ater Yang
Police reports death of a 13-year-old girl due to suicide in Rumbek East County, Lakes State.
Lakes State police spokesperson, Maj. Elijah Mabor Makuac, told No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper that the girl committed suicide by hanging, on Sunday.
He said the incident occurred in Adol Village.
According to Makuac, preliminary findings indicate that the girl took her life after she was beaten by her mother.
“I was informed that she (the girl) was beaten by her mother, and we don’t know why she was beaten, whether she wronged something or what happened; the investigation is still going on to identify the cause of her suicide,” said Elijah.
Police has been directed to apprehend the mother of the deceased girl for questioning to establish the actual cause of the suicide,
“We, the law enforcement agency or the police, will not leave that one just like that. We shall be investigating that case to find out exactly what the cause of that problem is,” Makuac noted.
Meanwhile, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) coordinator in Lakes State, Daniel Laat Kon, urges parents to cease unnecessary beatings of children.
He said beating children without proper reason can cause a child to take an unnecessary act.
“According to the information we received, the 13-year-old girl committed suicide by hanging after she was beaten by her mother,” he said.
Mr. Laat also said according to their investigation, the girl had earlier warned people that she would commit suicide if she was beaten.
CEPO’s state coordinator advised that parents need to explain mistakes and tell why a disciplinary action was inevitable to a child.
“We neglect children, and we don’t take care of them, and after we have seen that the child has committed a mistake, we only resort to beatings, and these serious beatings of children will not help, and our parents need to stop it,” he echoed.