Reincarnation dream led to suicide, Thai daily says

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Asian Political News, June 21, 1999

BANGKOK, June 18 Kyodo A 14-year-old schoolboy who hanged himself last Sunday, had told friends he wanted to die so he could return to life as a Japanese game designer, the Nation reported Friday. The newspaper, in a front-page story, said Withit Khamphirarak kept telling his friends and relatives he wanted to die so he could be reborn in Japan and work as a game designer.

In a suicide note, Withit began with "My Last Night," the opening phrase of a song in the highly popular CD game "Final Fantasy," with which friends and family said he was obsessed. He went on to tell his mother to keep his savings and to give his toys to his three cousins, the Nation said. "Withit's mother, who asked that her first name be withheld, said her only child had recently demonstrated the extent of his obsession after watching the science-fiction film 'The Matrix' in which the main character infiltrates a virtual computer world to fight villains," the Nation said.

Withit, a ninth-grader at a Catholic school, hanged himself late Sunday night using a rope and a door frame, according to the daily. "He was last seen drawing Japanese comic characters as well as acting blind, like one of the characters, after watching a television program with his cousins," it said. His mother was quoted by the paper as saying Withit started reading Japanese comic books four years ago, then began playing computer games, before starting to create imaginary characters on his own.

He named them all in Japanese, based on those in the books and games. Withit's mother added her son had also told relatives and school friends he wanted to be able to speak Japanese, and had asked them how to make a living in Japan, how to be reborn Japanese, according to the daily.

A classmate of Withit was also quoted as saying the boy had suggested a few months ago that they jump off a building together in order to be reborn in Japan and work as game designers there.

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