Dubai Police investigation under way after two pupils from same private school commit suicide

Two pupils attending the same private school in the Al Qusais area of Dubai claimed their own lives in two separate incidents one day apart.

A 16-year-old Filipina girl hung herself in her bedroom last Tuesday evening. Her mother, a nurse, found the body and called Dubai police’s operation room.

The girl, who lived with her mother alone, is believed to have suffered from depression and had previously attempted suicide.

The second incident was reported to police by a passersby at 11pm the following day after a 15-year-old boy, also Filipino, jumped from the balcony of his parents’ eighth floor apartment while his parents were asleep.

Police and prosecution investigations are ongoing but primary suspicions revolve around the Blue Whale Challenge, which is a social network game that first appeared in May 2016.

The ‘game’ reportedly consists of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, with the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide.

“We are investigating all possibilities and to confirm whether the pupils had actually played the game or not, their mobile phones will be referred to the criminal laboratory for inspection next week,” said an official.

Source: The National