A teenager in Thailand collapsed and died at his computer after having all-night gaming sessions during his school holidays.
Piyawat Harikun, 17, had broken up from classes towards the end of October – using the free time to stay in his room on multiplayer battle games on his PC.
His parents said he would stay up all-night then draw the curtains in the day to continue his fixation with gaming, spending hours on the computer at the home in Udon Thani, northern Thailand.
They would take food to his room and urged him to stop, but he refused to cut down on his obsession.
Piyawat’s father Jaranwit, went to the bedroom on Monday afternoon and found his son collapsed from the computer chair and was slumped against a PC tower on the floor.
There was a pile of takeaway boxes on the desk and a bottle of fizzy pop at his feet, while his headphones were resting on top of another computer tower.
Jaranwit, an air force officer, said he tried to revive his son but he was already dead.
He said: ‘I called his name and said ‘wake up, wake up’ but he did not respond. I could see he was dead.’
Medics who examined the body yesterday afternoon said the teenager died from a stroke, which they believe was caused by playing the computer constantly through the night.
Jaranwit admitted that his son was a gaming addict and warned other parents not to allow their children to become hooked on the games.
He said: ‘My son was smart and always did great at school but he had a major problem with gaming addiction.
‘I tried to warn him about his relentless long hours playing games and he promised to reduce it, but it was too late.
‘He had already died before he had a chance to change.
‘I want my son’s death to be an example and warning for parents whose children are game addicts. They need to be more strict on their children’s playing hours otherwise they could end up like my son.’
The boy’s body was taken from the hospital to a nearby Buddhist temple where his devastated father was waiting to arrange a funeral.
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