Habemus Papam,Walter

Man and woman become latest case of `Internet suicide'

DPA, TAIPEI
Monday, Jul 04, 2005, Page 3

Two Taiwanese who met on the Internet have committed suicide together in the latest case of "Internet suicide," a newspaper said yesterday.

Liang Yi-chun, 25, and Chen Chen-kai, 21, were found dead at Liang's apartment Saturday in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, by Liang's boyfriend. The two had died from burning charcoal, the Chinese-language United Daily News said.

"Liang's boyfriend told police that Liang has been suicidal for a long time and recently met a man on the Internet who also wanted to commit suicide," the paper said.

Liang left a suicide note saying she killed herself because "it is painful to be alive."

In her diary, she mentioned that she had met a man who had "the same purpose."

So-called Internet suicides began in Japan and have spread to Taiwan, South Korea and China.

Since January, Taiwan has reported a dozen cases, and Taiwan police have shut down several suicide Web sites.

Taiwan has one of the highest suicide rates in Asia. Last year, 3,468 Taiwanese took their own lives, averaging 10 suicides per day or one suicide every two and a half hours.

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