Story By: Lisa-Maria Goertz, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

A young Sri Lankan woman killed herself by setting herself on fire after her mum hid her mobile phone.

The incident was reported in the neighbourhood of Inigodawila, in the city of Chilaw, in the northeastern Sri Lankan province of Puttalam.

According to national news outlet dinamina, the 20-year-old girl, identified as D Hashini Piumika, was seeing a man who her mother did not approve of.

Reportedly, the mother had told the daughter on several occasions to end the relationship, but her daughter continued to speak constantly to the man on her mobile phone.

Hashini’s mother then hid her daughter’s mobile phone and refused to give it back.

According to dinamina on the morning of the 20th August, a fierce argument broke out between the mother and daughter as Hashini begged her mother to give her back her mobile, but to no avail.

At this point, Hashini reportedly poured kerosene over her body and set herself on fire.
The young woman was admitted to the Chilaw General Hospital but died from her injuries on the evening of the 21st August.

The Chilaw police department is conducting further investigations. There is no further information as to whether the young woman intended to kill herself or simply wanted to scare her mother out of frustration.

In recent decades, Sri Lanka recorded one of the highest suicide rates in the world, with female suicide being second only to China and mostly concentrated in rural areas and the poorer classes.

However, since the turn of the century, the rate has dropped significantly and is now almost at its lowest in 30 years, according to a study on Cambridge.org.

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