BATURITI

A 13-year-old boy from Tabanan hanged himself in a cowshed after school, adding to an alarming rise in suicides in Bali, police said.

The high-school student, I Wayan Arta, was found hanging from a nylon rope last Friday, Baturiti Police chief Gusti Sudara said at the weekend.

He said the dead teenager was still wearing his school uniform, and it was not yet known what motivated him to take his life.

“Baturiti Police are investigating why this happened,” he said.

So far this year 147 Balinese have committed suicide, according to official figures, compared to 39 for all of 2009.

Economic hardship is cited as one reason for people deciding to end their lives.

More than 200,000 Balinese are severely impoverished and live on or less than US$1.5 a day, government data say.