E-crime squad alert to youths’ suicide plans
Officers from the police’s electronic crimes unit said yesterday that they had averted the suicides of 17 youngsters who had expressed their intention to take their own lives in comments posted in Internet chat rooms over the past three months. According to police, all the youngsters had declared their plans to kill themselves in online exchanges or messages posted since April 13. All were Greeks except one – a Finnish boy whose case the police referred to Interpol. Of the 16 Greek youngsters, nine were minors, according to police who traced the parents to Athens, Serres, Kalamata and Crete and warned them. It is expected that most of the youngsters will now undergo counseling. According to the comments posted, the youngsters in question were depressed due to unemployment, family problems, romantic disappointment and social exclusion.
