Teen leapt to death over CCA

Thu, Nov 27, 2008
AsiaOne

No one would have thought Tan Wen Yi was a depressed or troubled teen. A Secondary 3 student of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Wen Yi was often described as a cheerful student who was respectful to teachers, and well-liked by fellow school-mates.

However, on 13 Feb this year, the 15-year-old student jumped to his death when he did not get approval from his teacher and parents to quit his co-curricular activity (CCA), track-and-field.

Wanted to switch to drama

The incident happened around 9pm at his home, a condominium located along Stevens Road.
What is known is that from the start, Wen Yi was unhappy about being in the track-and-field team and frequently missed training practices as a result. The situation improved a little when he began to do well in the sport, clinching 2 individual medals in the process.

He had expressed his wish to switch to another CCA, but was met with disapproval from both his teacher and parents.

On the day of the 13th, the teacher-in-charge of Wen Yi's CCA, Mr Ng Yeong Joo, 38, saw him in playing soccer in school with friends instead of attending practice. When confronted, Wei Yi revealed his unhappiness and expressed his wish to transfer to the drama club instead.
However, this was met with disapproval from the teacher, as he advised him not to.

After the teacher had left, Wen Yi turned to his soccer buddies and confided that he was sick of attending training four times a week as punishment for his truancy, and expressed that he "wanted to die". Brushing off his comment as a joke, the friends continued with their game.

Final words

While on the way home at around 6pm that day, Wen Yi's friend, who accompanied him on the journey back, did not detect anything amiss during their conversation. Nothing was out of the ordinary, as they talked and joked as usual.

When Wen Yi got home at about 8.10pm that night, he told his parents that he had lost his interest in running, and insisted on making the switch to drama instead. However, his mother tried to dissuade him.

Dejected, Wen Yi's last words to his mother before returning to his room was, "I'd planned to do this in March, but i will do it now."

Sensing something was amiss, his mother quickly followed him into his room. She entered just in time to see Wen Yi climbing up the window ledge and pushing the window open before jumping down. She rushed forward to try and grab him, but it was too late.

Still in his school uniform when he jumped, Wen Yi was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics.

He made plans for last day of his life

Just a day before his death, Wen Yi had messaged his friend at around 5.47pm, extending an invitation to join him in a "crime spree". Wen Yi was alleged to have text messaged his friend that on the last day of his life, he would commit a series of law-breaking activities, "letting the world know of my crazy deeds", before ending his life by jumping off a building. He went on to add, "As my friend, will you join me?"

Concerned, Wen Yi's friend spoke to him about the message the next day. It was then that Wen Yi told him he was tired and found life meaningless. During their conversation, Wen Yi also revealed that he would carry out his "plan" in March. His friend tried to console him, and told him to push any suicidal thoughts out of his head. Sadly, his words went unheeded.


I was so upset to see this news.
Should the teacher and parents have allowed Wei Yi to switch CCA? Could they have discussed more in-depth regarding his problems with him earlier?
Or is it just Wei Yi's inability to cope effectively with stress and disappointment?

Toying with one's own life is the most foolish way to trying to run away from problems. Does ending your life mean that everything is solved, or even get away from the entire problem completely? This mentality is totally wrong. Ending your own life creates even more problems for yourself and your loved ones. It doesn't let others be more concerned about you because as time goes on, your history will also slowly fade away. (That's why it's very similar to terrorism--a once-in-a-lifetime fame is usually what they want.) Is these worth your precious life?

Remember: You only live once.

What is done, cannot be undone.

In life, you have 2 paths to walk--to love life, or not to love it at all. We should be grateful because God let us choose which way we want to take. Ultimately, the path you chose will lead you to its destination.

The good news is: It is never too late to change.

Sometimes, we might not even know that our actions might directly or in directly impact someone else, although we don't really mean to. Therefore, it's very important to be careful with what we think as what we say or do will in turn affect people around us, no matter how small an action is.

I hope this will serve as a reminder for us to reflect on our own actions, and to be mindful of the loved ones around us, instead of taking their presence and safety for granted. Treasure life, 'coz you're not a cat so you don't have 9 lives.

As for Wei Yi's family, I hereby extend my condolences to them.

Labels: Local news