Parents warned of online suicide game

THE Film and Publication Board (FPB) has urged parents to be vigilant and closely monitor their children’s online activities, especially the games they download and play from app stores used by iOS and Android devices.

This after the board was made aware of a suicide game Blue Whale, which also goes by the name of A Silent House, A Sea of Whale, or Wake me up at 4.20am.

The game is a 59-day challenge, which encourages self-mutilation, and on the 50th day it asks the player to commit suicide to claim the ultimate winner prize.

Reports also claim that once the App is downloaded it can’t be deleted from the device.

Although the game app is currently not available on the South African market, there is a possibility that it can be shared peer to peer.

Parents and guardians have been urged to monitor their children’s devices and report to the FPB if they come across such content.

The FPB is available on its hotline number 0800 000 555 or www. prochild.org.za.

The 21-year-old Russian who developed the game is currently in a Russian jail after he was arrested.

Philipp Budeikin has been charged with inciting at least 16 schoolgirls to kill themselves by taking part in the game.

According to reports, he confessed, saying those who had committed suicide were “biological waste” and that he was “cleansing society”.