Malaysian teen kills herself after Instagram poll

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Reuters): Malaysian police are investigating the case of a teenager believed to have jumped to her death after asking her social media followers to vote on whether she should kill herself.
The 16-year-old girl, who was not named, had run a poll on photo-sharing app Instagram with the question "Really Important, Help Me Choose D/L", hours before jumping off the roof of a building in Sarawak, on Malaysia's east, on Monday, district police chief Aidil Bolhassan told Reuters.
The 'D/L' meant 'Death/Life', and the poll had showed 69% of the girl's followers chose 'D', he said.
"We are conducting a post-mortem to determine whether there were other factors in her death," he said, adding that the girl had a history of depression.
Instagram reviewed the teenager's account and found that the online poll, which ran over a 24-hour period, ended with 88% percent votes for 'L', said Wong Ching Yee, Instagram's head of communications in the Asia-Pacific.
Aidil, however, said that the poll's numbers may have changed after news of the girl's death spread.
The case had sparked concern among Malaysian lawmakers who called for a wider probe.
Ramkarpal Singh, a lawyer and member of parliament, said that those who voted for the teenager to die could be guilty of abetting suicide.