China: Missing schoolboy died by suicide – Police

On Thursday, local police in Jiangxi Province, east China, announced at a news conference that a schoolboy who went missing and was later discovered dead committed suicide.

Hu, a student at Jiangxi’s Zhiyuan High School, vanished on October 14, 2022, and his body wasn’t discovered until January 28.

The boy committed suicide by hanging himself, according to case investigations, according to Hu Mansong, deputy head of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Public Security.

Before determining the boy’s cause of death, local police and a joint task force conducted inquiries, interviews, a postmortem examination, as well as the examination and identification of physical evidence under the on-site supervision of domestic reputable crime scene technicians, Hu Mansong said.

The investigation indicated that the location of the body was the same place where the suicide happened, said Hu Mansong, who added that there were no signs of a fight or dragging at the scene.

He also said that a pen voice recorder that belonged to the boy was found at the scene and submitted to the Ministry of Public Security for analysis.

He said that the boy clearly expressed suicidal intentions in two audio files.

According to him, analysis showed that the audio files were not artificially synthesised or altered.

The official said that psychology experts found that the boy was introverted and mild in nature, showed an inclination to solitude and cared about the opinions of others.

He also said that the investigations revealed that the boy lacked emotional support and channels for venting emotions.

Following his admission to Zhiyuan High School, the boy experienced psychological imbalances due to dissatisfying grades and socialising and adolescent stress, he said.

This caused him to develop physical and emotional disorders, which eventually gave rise to suicidal tendencies, he added. (Xinhua/NAN)