In a bid to prevent people taking their own lives, the police in Port Vila have called for the public, especially young people, to report all suicide attempts.

The appeal follows the death of a young 18-year-old girl on Friday at a family home in the Namba Tri Area in Port Vila. She was from Pentecost and Ambae.

Criminal Investigation Department Director, Jack Joses, says a preliminary report from the Vila Central Hospital has shown that the girl, the late Wendiana Lui, tragically took her own life.

Mr Joses says statements from eye witnesses show that the girl had tried to commit suicide previously but he says the incident was not reported to the police which could have helped to prevent a second attempt.

He says the death took place in the young girl’s home and police are still working to get more statements about the incident to complete their investigations. A doctor will make a final decision on the cause of death before her body is released to family today.

Mr Joses says on Friday night after the family’s dinner, the late Wendiana got a call from her family on Pentecost Island.

He said he has been informed that in the phone call her family encouraged her to study well at school because her parents were struggling to get money to pay for her school fees.

“Before her death there were no arguments between the family members and late Wendiana, her family reported everything seemed normal to them, and that the family had dinner and told stories together before going to bed,” Director Joses said.

Mr Joses says after the phone conversation her family on Pentcost, Wendiana went to bed and sometime between 11 and 12 o’clock at night, her family woke up and found her dead outside.

Wendiana was a Year 11 student at Malapoa College in Port Vila, and the college’s Deputy Principal, Akasten Tabi, says her funeral will be held at Malapoa today before she is returned to her home island of Pentecost.