Coroner criticises lack of support for young overseas students
An Auckland tertiary provider was ‘insufficiently attuned to and equipped’ to address the risks of depression and selfharm in the case of a young Chinese who died by suicide. Sam Sherwood reports on the death of Chengan Peng.
Chengan Peng walked off the plane at Auckland Airport in January 2017 from his hometown in China, ready to get his studies under way.
The 20-year-old had enrolled in a Foundation Studies course at the Academic Colleges Group (ACG), which forms part of the Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
Peng, who was described by his family as independent, polite and focused, had a wide circle of friends in China and was sociable. He was a frequent and skilled BMX rider, and made technical enhancements to his bike, bringing it with him to NZ.
He was in good physical health and had no history of mental health disturbances and was described as coming from a caring and stable family.
About seven months later, Peng was found dead in his room at his inner- city apartment, UniLodge.
Three years on, a coroner has found ACG was ‘‘ insufficiently attuned’’ and equipped to address the risks of student depression and self-harm, adding that the tertiary provider’s 2017 resources ‘‘ fell short’’ of what should reasonably be expected of a provider seeking enrolments from young overseas students.
The coroner’s findings, released to the Sunday StarTimes reveal the litany of ways resources fell short, including the welfare handbook not advising students a doctor was available for consultation, and the handbook only being available in English.
Peng, who adopted the name Pengle after arriving in New Zealand, had an interest in studying economics at AUT, but first he needed to undertake a foundation studies course to equip him with a sufficient command of English.
He originally lived in a homestay before moving into UniLodge in the central city.
Peng had to complete a journal as part of his studies, and his entries provide an insight into some of the challenges he was facing.
Peng’s journal entries, released within the coroner’s report, record his concerns about money and the high cost of living in New Zealand.
He wrote about incidents that had upset him, including breakng his BMX frame, and said it was preventing him focusing on his studies.
One journal topic, completed on May 14, 2017, asked Peng to write about a time when he had felt lonely. He answered ‘‘ every day’’ since he had stopped riding with his friends. An undated page in one of the two writing journals contained a handwritten note. In the note, which did not resemble a writing exercise for ACG, Peng said he felt ‘‘ defeated’’ and had written ‘‘just kill yourself’’.
Staff had access to the journal, but there is no evidence this note had been seen before Peng’s death. A friend told police he never saw Peng depressed, but from late May started receiving messages from him saying he wanted to die. Peng later deleted the messages.
The friend said he always replied saying ‘‘please don’t’’, but they did not discuss it further.
He last saw Peng after the last exam on June 22. He seemed normal. Another friend, who took the same class, also believed he seemed OK after the last exam.
About a week after his last exam, Peng messaged his father asking for some money. When asked if he could wait until July 4, Peng replied that was fine.
One of Peng’s friends last heard from him on July 1, when the two chatted on Facebook about computer gaming.
On July 3, Peng’s father messaged him to confirm his bank details so he could transfer the money. After not hearing back, he tried various other methods to reach him before getting hold of the ACG emergency contact details and advising them of his concerns, asking if someone could check up on him.
That afternoon, about 5.20pm, staff from ACG knocked on his door, and, when there was no reply, let themselves in with a door access card. They found Peng’s body.
The coroner ruled he had been dead for up to two days.
A forensic search of his electronic devices revealed no files relating to suicide or self-harm.
As part of her report, Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale cited a Stuff investigation which analysed 270 coroners’ reports into student suicides from 2007 to July 2019.
One in three of those cases showed no prior mental health concerns, and only 48 per cent of the affected students ever saw a doctor or mental health professional to discuss their wellbeing.
The average age of the students was 22, and 61 per cent were men.
Among the contributing factors mentioned regularly in the coroners’ reports were struggles with studies, financial problems, foreign students feeling isolated, relationship breakups, diagnosed mental illness and feelings of loneliness.
Borrowdale said the examination confirmed that Peng’s ‘‘ tragic situation’’ and the stressors operating on him were ‘‘far from unique’’.
At the time of his death the only available guidance for students’ pastoral care was found in three documents written in English.
The documents were the International Student Welfare Handbook 2017, ACG Norton College Handbook 2017 and the Critical Incident Policy.
Borrowdale said the resources were all administrative, and none addressed depression or anxiety.
She also had concerns about the cost mentioned in the handbook for psychological services, and that the directory of services did not refer to agencies and services that provided emotional or mental health support.
She accepted that ACG thought in 2017 it was wellresourced to deal with student wellbeing issues, but the measures since revealed a ‘‘ heightened sensitivity’’ to the risks of student depression and self-harm.
The coroner ruled Peng’s journal entries were enough to cause staff to inquire into his wellbeing.
‘‘When students are required to keep an autobiographical journal, with topics that reflect on how they are, what makes them angry/ sad etc, it is not unlikely that the teacher will gain an insight into their students’ states of mind and may read context of concern.’’
ACG has since been sold and is now known as UP International College. UP’s executive principal, Mark Haines, said that its practices were in line with industry standards at the time of Peng’s death.
Haines told the coroner that in almost 20 years of his experience with the tertiary provider he believed Peng was the only student to die by suicide in one of their programmes.
‘‘Chengan’s death was a shock to all of us.’’
He encouraged the coroner to abstain from criticism of the resources and policies that were in place at the time of Peng’s death, saying they reflected a ‘‘ well- resourced and reasoned approach’’ to the support of students suffering from mental health issues and believed they were consistent with industry guidelines in place at the time.
The coroner disagreed, and said she believed ACG’s 2017 resources ‘‘ fell short’’ of what should reasonably be expected of a tertiary education provider who sought enrolments from young overseas students.
She said it was ‘‘pleasing’’ that UP had since introduced training on how to identify students who may be at risk or struggling, rather than relying solely on them seeking self-help.
As a result of the changes to its policies and resources since Peng’s death, the coroner did not believe it was necessary to make any recommendations.
In a statement, Haines said the entire team were ‘‘ deeply saddened’’ to learn of Peng’s death.
They had subsequently reviewed ‘‘every aspect of student care’’.
‘‘ In line with policy review guidelines and continuous improvement, over the past three years we have put in place a raft of additional support functions for students.’’
Improvements included increasing training for staff so they could identify issues and warning signs. They have also given all international students access to free counselling sessions and 24/7 support.
‘‘Our understanding of mental wellness as a society continues to evolve, and as an organisation we are committed to adapting learnings and best practice into our operations in order to create an environment where our students have the wraparound support needed to feel comfortable to reach out for mental health services.’’
UP hired a counsellor in 2017 and now has an International Student Services Team which provides care and support for students.
In early 2020 UP also signed up to Sonder, an Australian-based company which provides an online portal for students to reach out for help at any time.
The coroner said that while Haines did not believe there was a lot of difference between the resources available to teachers before and after Peng’s death, she was satisfied the current resources were a ‘‘ material improvement’’.
‘‘When students are required to keep an autobiographical journal . . . it is not unlikely that the teacher will gain an insight into their students’ states of mind and may read context of concern.’’ Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale