Pretoria - A Grade 6 pupil at Doornpoort Primary School has committed suicide after being bullied on social media.
The 13-year-old had been bullied by friends on WhatsApp groups since last Thursday.
Spokesperson for the Sinoville Crisis Centre Sonja Carstens said pupils at the school were shocked and terribly traumatised by the news.
In response, centre staff were immediately deployed to the school to comfort pupils and parents.
Carstens said it was a very sad moment. She pleaded with the public to be mindful of the fact that teenagers were very emotional beings, who were impulsive.
The Department of Education said it conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident. In terms of the findings, the pupil was allegedly bullied by a Grade 7 schoolmate.
The alleged perpetrator distributed a video depicting the pupil naked.
She reported the bullying to her Life Science teacher after school on Thursday, however, the perpetrator had already left school. The following day, the victim was absent from school.
Her mother went to see the principal to discuss her concerns on Monday, only to discover her body when she returned home later that morning.
The department said it was saddened by the matter. “Necessary action will be taken against all implicated pupils,” it said.
“On behalf of the entire education fraternity in Gauteng, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased learner. We hope that the family will find comfort in the knowledge that we too share their loss,” said MEC Panyaza Lesufi.
Sinoville police station spokesperson Warrant Officer Johan van Dyk said an inquiry was done and that an investigation was under way to determine what transpired.