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.
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