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Teen Kills Mom Over PC Game Addiction, Commits Suicide

Posted November. 17, 2010 11:35,   

한국어

A middle school student in Busan addicted to computer games killed his mother Tuesday in an argument over his playing games and then committed suicide.

The 43-year-old mother was found dead by her 11-year-old daughter in her bedroom at their residence in Busan’s Daeyeon district at 7:30 a.m. The girl’s grandmother, who lives five minutes away on foot, called police after hearing of the incident from the girl.

The body of the mother’s 15-year-old son, a ninth grader, was also discovered in the balcony. He was found to have hanged himself with electric wire.

A memo on his desk read, “Grandma, Mother scolded me for playing computer games, and I’ve committed an unforgivable crime. I’m so sorry.”

According to police, the family moved from Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, to Busan in November last year. The mother’s husband went to China in 2000 for business, and since then the couple had been living separately.

The mother barely made a living as a photo studio assistant. Since she came home late at night, she had no time to take care of her son and daughter.

Left unattended by his parents, the boy became addicted to computer games from the fifth grade. He seemed to favor violent games featuring combat with guns and swords.

He did not receive private education and played games in his room until two to three in the morning. Last year, he underwent counseling on three occasions at a professional treatment center for PC game addiction.

In the autopsy of the mother conducted Tuesday, bruises, contusion and scars caused by fingernails in her face were found.

Police said considering her daughter’s testimony that mother and son “fought more fiercely around 11 p.m. Monday,” the boy apparently strangled his mother out of anger and then killed himself afterwards.



toto@donga.com