Italian police have opened a probe into instigation to suicide for a nine-year-old boy who hanged himself in his home in Bari Monday afternoon, judicial sources said Tuesday.
For the moment the probe is against person or persons unknown, the sources said.
It is a formality, in order to be able to carry out technical exams, they said.
Police have thus far ruled out any connection to online games or social media, after a 10-year-old girl choked herself to death by playing a TikTok Challenge in Palermo last week.
A local coroner is set to be charged with carrying out an autopsy in the coming hours, the sources said.
The boy has been described as "tranquil and serene" by those who knew him.
Police are not ruling out the possibility that his death was due to a tragic accident.
The boy's Playstation and all the phones available for use in the house are still being checked, but police said informally that they could rule out a social-media game.
After last week's accident in Palermo, Italy's data privacy authority ordered video sharing app TikTok to temporarily block the accounts of any users whose ages can't be confirmed.
The order came after the death of the 10-year-old girl in Palermo, whose parents told authorities their daughter was participating in a "blackout challenge" she saw on the app.
The child died of asphyxiation, and authorities are investigating whether anyone invited her to try the challenge.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
