Egyptian child commits suicide, Blue Whale app found on his phone

A 12-year-old Egyptian boy was found hanged inside his bedroom in the city of Mahala, in Egypt’s Delta, and an app for the deadly cyber game Blue Whale was found on his mobile phone.

The security services in Al Gharbia governorate received a report that an Egyptian child named Al-Sayed Ahmed Al-Sayed was found hanged in his bedroom at his grandfather's home in the village of Al-Karma in Mahalla, while his relatives said the Blue Whale app was found on his phone.

The security investigation revealed that the child was undergoing a severe psychological crisis because his parents separated, and each remarried, as he had to move to live with his grandfather.

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According to the investigation, during the last few days the boy isolated himself in his room. The family believed that this was due to his sadness.

The public prosecution decided to authorize the burial of the body, and ordered the security services to conduct intensive investigations to uncover the circumstances behind the child’s death.

Egypt has reportedly four cases of suicide in the last few days because of the cyber game.

The first case was Khalid al-Fakharani who was the son of the former parliamentarian Hamdi al-Fakharani, followed by a suicide attempt by a girl in Alexandria; the blue whale markings were found on her leg.

The third case belongs to a young man from Sharqia province who drowned because of his execution of the game instructions. The fourth case was of a young man who tried to burn his sisters and father to fulfil the instructions of the deadly game.

To counter the phenomenon, the House of Representatives is looking into adding the Blue Whale as part of cyber-crimes, during a bill currently under discussion.

In an earlier statement to Al Arabiya, the parliament member Al-Sayed Hijazi revealed that the council is considering the inclusion of the Blue Whale game as a cyber-crime in the interest to protect Egyptian national security and the lives of children and adolescents who are playing the game out of curiosity and end up losing their lives for it.

He added that the draft law contains 45 articles and 4 sections. All dangerous electronic games will be added to the crimes stipulated in the law, pointing out that the penalties including imprisonment and fines would be listed for violators, and those who play the game or those who allow it to be included in electronic applications in Egypt.