A 20-year-old student was found hanging dead in his room on Valentine’s Day at his father’s residence at Nkroful Nkwanta, near Sekondi in the Western Region.
Information gathered by The Mirror indicate that the deceased, Alfred Ansah, a final year agricultural student of a senior high school, attended a wake at Nkroful, a village also near Sekondi, on Friday evening, February 11, 2011 and returned home very late in the night.
According to the reports, Alfred’s father, Mr. Richard Assifuah, rebuked his son for staying out so late instead of sticking to his books and studying. Where upon Alfred reacted angrily by retorting that after all he was not the only youngster or student who attended the wake and did not deserve the reprimand. Then he walked away into his room.
Apparently, on second thoughts Alfred regretted his reaction towards his father, but failed to render an apology or discuss it.
Instead, on Sunday morning, February 13, Alfred informed his father that he would be going to church, and that was the last time he was seen alive.
On the morning of Monday, February 14, 2011, family members checked his room when they could not find him. His door was found locked, and when they looked through a window, his body was seen dangling from the ceiling. He had hanged himself using a nylon rope.
The police have confirmed the story, producing a suicide note that Alfred allegedly left behind.
In the note, the young man apologised to his father for the extreme action he was going to take, and asked his father to find a place in his heart to forgive him.
He further wrote that he had learnt his lesson and that in his next life he would know how to talk properly to his parents and the elderly.
Residents believe the young man might have felt so bad after his reaction towards his father due to the deep bond of friendship that existed between them.
The Takoradi District Commander of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Dela Dzansi, told The Mirror that investigations were underway, but gave no further comments.
At the time of filing this report, the body of Alfred had been deposited at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital mortuary for autopsy.