Tonga recorded its fourth suicide case this year, with the death of a young man at the village of Malapo, Tongatapu, on Saturday October 2.

Deputy Commander of Police, Taniela Faletau said that four suicides had been reported to the Police during the past nine months, compared to the total of five suicides for Tonga in 2003.

A 17 year old male is the youngest of the four suicides this year, he said, and the oldest was a 28 year old. Three of the suicides occurred in Tongatapu, with one in Vava‘u.

Last year the police recorded a total of five suicides involving three males from the age of 20 to 45 years old and one 22-year-old female.

Taniela said that three of these suicides occurred in Tongatapu and two in Vava‘u, while Ha‘apai, ‘‘Eua and the two Niuas had not recorded any suicide cases in the last year or this year.