Grade School Suicide Leads To Mass Game Website Closings

Thai courts have order the closure of online gaming and gambling websites after a 12-year-old boy jumped to his death from a sixth-floor balcony after being banned from gaming by his father.

Pongsathorn Wattanabenjasopha, a sixth grader student at the Sri Witthaya Paknam School, committed suicide on Thursday. According to The Bangkok Post, several factors lead to his decision to take his own life: "Family problems topped the list. Other factors included physical and mental problems, economic hardships, poor income and unemployment."

Even as the suicide rate is rising in Thailand, the government has decided to crackdown on computer games and online gambling. On May 19, the Criminal Court to the Information and Communications Technology Ministry issued an order demanding that 72 gaming sites be shuttered. According to the director of the Rajanagarindra Child and Adolescent Mental Health Institute, the boy's addiction to gaming reflects that kids who game have an aggressive mentality and are more likely to commit suicide.

Court orders closure of 72 websites [Bangkok Post]