[UPDATED] Boy, 11, found dead

An 11-year-old boy is believed to have taken his own life after his mother scolded him for watching too many cartoons and sent him to bed. The incident occurred at the family's home in Couva on Monday night.

The standard four student, police told Newsday, became upset and went to his room. He was later found unconscious. He was taken to the Couva health facility where doctors declared him dead. The child lived with his mother and 13-year-old brother. Four years ago, his 19-year-old brother was murdered and relatives said the child has suffered from insomnia ever since.

Police said the incident happened at 10.30 pm. His mother saw him watching cartoons, buffed him and told him to turn off the television and go to bed.

The boy became upset and went to his room. His elder brother later found him unresponsive and called out to their mother.

The mother of six told Newsday on Tuesday she is still in a deep state of shock.

“I heard my son screaming ‘Mammy, Mammy come quick.' I did not expect to see my child dead. This hurts so much.”

She said her son was a naturally brilliant student and she allowed him to watch television at nights after he began having difficulty sleeping.

“The cartoons would be his only comfort until he fell asleep. He would stay up until after 11pm watching Sponge Bob and Ben Ten.”

But the woman said she recently started getting complaints from teachers that her son was sleeping during class.

“I realised that his lack of sleep during the night was now affecting him. I spoke to him on Monday night and told him he could not stay up late watching cartoons and he had to try to go to bed earlier.”

The woman said her son was preparing to write the Secondary Entrance Examination in 2021 and had been performing well. “He was among the top ten students in his class.”

She described him as a loving child. “He would always tell me everyday ‘Mummy I love you.’ I still can’t believe he is gone forever.”

Police have taken a statement her.

MP for the area, Rudranath Indarsingh, said he knew the family well and called for immediate counselling and support to be given to the child’s classmates.

A team from the Victim and Witness Support Unit of the police service has been assigned to the family for counselling, and officials from the Student Support Services department of the Education Ministry are expected to provide counselling for the child’s classmates.

In June last year, an 11-year-old girl died by suicide after an argument with her siblings over a television remote in Arouca.

Also, three months later, a 15-year-old boy also ended his life at his family’s Williamsville home.

In February last year, another student did the same at her Wallerfield home after her mother took away her cellphone.

Anyone needing support is urged to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-5588, 220-3636 and 231-2824.

This story was originally published with the title "Boy,11, dies after scolding for watching too many cartoons" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

An 11-year-old boy is believed to have taken his own life after his mother scolded him for watching too many cartoons and sent him to bed. The incident occurred at the family's home in Couva on Monday night.

The standard four student, police told Newsday, became upset and went to his room. He was later found unconscious with a cord around his neck. He was rushed to the Couva District Health Facility where doctors pronounced him dead.

The child lived with his mother and 13-year-old brother. Four years ago, his 19-year-old brother was murdered and relatives said that ever since that incident, the child suffered from insomnia.

According to a police report the incident occurred at 10.30 pm at the family home. His mother walked into the room and saw her son watching cartoons on television at the time. Reports are that she buffed him, told him to turn off the television and go to bed.

The boy became upset and then went to his room. His elder brother made the discovery and called out to their mother. The mother of six in an interview on Tuesday, told Newsday that she is still in a deep state of shock. “I heard my son screaming ‘mammy, mammy come quick.' I did not expect to see my child dead. This hurts so much.”