A nine-year-old boy from Lilongwe has died by suicide after he was rebuked by his parents for fighting with his younger brother.

The incident happened on Wednesday at Chadza Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) M’bwatalika in the district.

Lilongwe police publicist Hastings Chigalu says, “On Wednesday evening, the deceased was involved in a fight with his younger brother after quarreling.”

When their parents intervened, the deceased was not pleased as he refused to eat and went to bed on an empty stomach.

Chigalu further explains that, “When morning came, both parents left home, the father to his business place and the mother to the garden leaving the deceased with his siblings.”

“While at his business place, at around 11:00 hours, the father received a telephone call from his nephew notifying him of the death of his son, by suicide,” says Chigalu.

After receiving a report of the same, Mpingu Police Unit detectives, in the company of medical personnel from Chitedze Health Centre visited the scene.

Postmortem done by the said health personnel revealed that death was due to suffocation.

Meanwhile, police in the district have expressed worry with increased cases of suicide.

They further asking people of good will, organisations, religious and traditional leaders, and others, to join hands with police in sensitizing communities on better ways of dealing with challenges in life other than taking their own lives.