Sharjah Police rescue girl who posted suicide note on Twitter
16-year-old claims she was bullied, threatened on social media
Sharjah: Police prevented a young girl from committing suicide after she posted her intent on Twitter last week.
Following a tip-off by Dubai Police, officers from Sharjah Police raced against time to locate her apartment in Al Nahda area.
The cybercrime department of Dubai Police had received information about the girl’s suicide post. They found out the girl stayed in Al Nahda area of Sharjah. They immediately worked with Sharjah Police's cybercrime department and located the girl’s residence.
Police officers had reached the girl’s apartment in Al Nahda and knocked at the door. “Open the door, your daughter is going to commit suicide!” police had told the girl’s father, who did not know anything about his daughter’s plan.
When police entered the girl’s room, they found her sitting with the lights turned off.
Police said the girl, a 16-year-old Afghan national, was distressed at being bullied on social media. People had made fun of her photo and passed negative comments about her, which caused her depression that drove her to try and end her life.
When the police found her, the girl lost her temper and started crying. The police calmed her down and explained that they came to help her after they were alerted about her suicide post.
She told police that she had decided to end her life after she was mocked by social media followers about her photo.
Police provided the girl with psychological support and counselling to calm her down and abandon the idea of suicide.
The girl had posted on Twitter on December 17 at 2.13am that she had decided to commit suicide after she received messages from strangers threating to rape and murder her following a post of a photo.
Colonel Faisal Bin Nasser, Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation Department at Sharjah Police, said when Sharjah Police learnt of the issue, they reacted promptly and saved the girl.
The girl has been advised to remove her posts as well as her account.
Col Bin Nasser said that the cooperation of police authorities in UAE helped avert what would have been a certain tragedy. He urged youth to use their free time constructively, especially during vacations, and not to indulge in acts that may have a negative effect on their lives or others’. He also urged parents to observe their children and their social media accounts.