Student commits suicide over non-payment of fees

Accra, June 3, GNA - A 17 year-old student at the weekend committed suicide by hanging herself with her Mother's cloth at Agbogbloshie in Accra over what was believed to be her frustration over her parents' inability to pay her school fees.

Helena Quaynor, a student of Presbyterian Vocational Institute at Lartebiokoshie, who was living with her mother Grace Yarboi at Agbogbloshie, returned from school and informed her mother that she needed 100,000 cedis to pay her school fees.

Deputy Superintendent of Police in charge of the James Town District, Mr Kwabena Antwi-Bosiako, told the Ghana News Agency that Helena's mother provided her with 50,000 cedis and asked her to go to her Father, who was staying at North Kaneshie, to collect the remainder of the fees, but he failed to give her the money.

Mr Antwi-Bosiako said Madam Yarboi promised the crestfallen daughter that she would find her the money the following Monday and both of them went to bed together at 2200 hours that night. He said when the Mother woke up in the morning she did not find Helena in the room and while looking for her she was told that someone had hung herself near where they lived.

When Madam Yarboi went to the scene she saw that it was Helena, who had hanged herself using the Mother's cloth as the noose. Mr Antwi-Bosiako said a post mortem examination showed that there was no foul play and that Helena died due to suffocation.