~ Le Vięt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

Year :      [2006]      [2005]      [2004]      [2003]      [2002]      [2001]      [2000]      [1999]      [1998]      [1997]

Five schoolgirls in Vietnam jump to their deaths

HANOI - Five Vietnamese schoolgirls, in an apparent group suicide, drowned themselves by leaping into a river with their hands tied, police said on Saturday. The bodies of the girls, who all attended seventh grade together, were discovered in the Thai Binh River about 150 km northeast of Hanoi. Their hands had been bound together with red ribbons from school.

Police believe the girls, two of whom were twin sisters, leapt to their deaths Wednesday evening, but their bodies were not discovered until Friday. “The families found suicide notes,” said Le Xuan Ba, chief investigator with the Thanh Ha police department in Hai Duong province. “In the notes they said they were sorry to their parents and friends.” Some of the girls wrote that they were unhappy because their parents scolded them too often. They also mentioned that boys at school were picking on them.

“Their classmates said they were acting strangely on Wednesday,” said Ba. “They were heard saying ’This is my last day in school.’” Police said that this was the first time such an incident had ever taken place in the district.

Deutsche Presse Agentur - May 27, 2006.