people die for all sorts of reason...

another news from ST Online:

JC student kills himself, convinced his private parts were too small

Suicide highlights importance of sex education in schools, says
coroner

By Stephanie Yap

HE WAS a second-year student at a top junior college, a member of the school volleyball team, a 'cheerful and energetic' boy who was doing well enough in his studies to take Special Papers. Yet on March 3 this year, the 18-year-old jumped to his death from a Bedok housing block, because he was convinced his private parts were too small. Delivering a verdict of suicide yesterday, State Coroner Tan Boon Heng was sufficiently concerned by this 'tragedy of misinformation' to recommend that the case be forwarded to the
Ministry of Education (MOE).

'The importance of sex education to our young people in schools cannot be over- emphasised,' he wrote. 'The case study is useful for relevant MOE officers to appreciate the problem of the severity of misinformation even among the best and brightest in our schools.'

The boy, who cannot be named, had confided in his mother in October last year that he was
worried his private parts were too small. She took him to a neighbourhood clinic, where the doctor told him his penis was of a normal size for an Asian man, and prescribed him multivitamins. Despite strong emotional support from his girlfriend and his mother, he remained convinced he had a problem. He also had a history of being stressed over schoolwork.
In January this year, he told his mother that his life was 'boring and meaningless' and that the
only thing stopping him from suicide was his
family's love. On March 3, after his usual volleyball practice, he took a bus from school to the Bedok interchange, but did not take his usual connecting bus home. When his sister sent him a text message at around 7pm to ask if he was coming home for dinner, he replied that he would eat out. The next and final message she received from him was at 8pm, telling her and their mother to take care. They realised something was wrong, but he repeatedly failed to answer his phone. He jumped from a housing block near the Bedok bus interchange at around 8.30pm. He was semi-conscious when he was taken to Changi General Hospital, but was pronounced dead at 10.40pm from multiple injuries. In his suicide note, written in a notebook he had bought 40 minutes before his death, he apologised to his girlfriend and his family for killing himself. 'He said it was not due to the stress of his examination, but it was more about his physical development...He still knew there was something wrong with his body parts,' the investigation report said.

In his judgment, State Coroner Tan said the boy's death showed that even intelligent young people can be victims of misinformation. 'While we are the beneficiaries of this Internet age
that hails an era of information and knowledge enriching our lives, the less-informed also become victims to junk information and worse, untruths,' he said. 'The deceased was so tormented by his unfounded (belief in his) inadequacy that it drove him to end his life.'
The case highlighted the importance of sexuality education, both in and out of school, he said. 'It may have helped if the deceased had the benefit of counselling now widely available. If parents are aware of their children being tormented in this way, they should seek professional help lest such tragic deaths should happen again.' Sex education, usually termed sexuality education, usually takes the form of a short series of lessons.
One secondary school teacher with five years' experience told The Straits Times that at his school, sex education covers three periods a week for three weeks. Students write reflection logs on topics like boy-girl relationships, different levels of intimacy, as well as legal issues. However, he said teaching students how to be comfortable with their physical and sexual development is not in the syllabus. 'But this is something that should be looked into because it is definitely part of the students' development,' he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LIAW WY-CIN

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