A 14 year-old boy, identified by his initials YSS, from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, was found dead after he reportedly hanged himself on Monday.
Police said that a neighbor, who has been identified as Kristofel Key, had been the one who found YSS’ body. Kristofel was feeding his goats, which he tied in front of YSS’ house in Kupang, when he noticed a smell coming from the building.
“At the time, the witness [Kristofel] had smelled something foul, and saw many flies inside the house through the window. He then took a peek, and saw someone was hanging from the ceiling inside,” Ketut Saba, chief of the Oebobo sub-district Police, told Tribunnews.
Kristofel then alerted local authorities, and YSS’ body was later brought to a hospital in Kupang.
According to reports from local media, YSS lost his mother in 2012, who had been killed by his own father. He had been living with his uncle ever since.
“He was closest and most loved by his mother, who has passed away,” Nahor, who is YSS’ uncle, was quoted as saying.
Since the tragic death of his mother, whose body was reportedly covered in cement after she was killed, YSS had expressed hatred toward his father, who is currently serving time in prison for his crime.
“He confided with me once when we were in seventh grade, he said he wanted to kill his father,” Rando Abong, a friend of YSS, said.
According to a report from Kompas.com, YSS had left a will addressed for Nahor, in which he mentioned how he failed his life goal of finishing high school. YSS also asked for his body to be buried without a coffin and said no funeral should be held for his death.
Reports from local media also highlighted that YSS was one of the students who received a free bicycle gift from President Joko Widodo in 2018. The president often gives away free bikes to children in official visits throughout Indonesia.
Indonesia unfortunately does not have a dedicated government-run suicide prevention hotline. However, if you or anyone you know is suffering from depression and/or contemplating suicide, you can get help from several local NGOs dealing with mental health and suicide prevention, such as Yayasan Pulih or intothelightid.org.
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