Phnom Penh: A man from Cambodia reportedly murdered his ex-wife and later committed suicide by jumping off the bridge, a suicide he broadcast live on controversial social media application Facebook on Friday.
According to the initial reports a suicide case such as this was first case ever reported in the country, according to the Cambodian Police, HT reported.
Facebook has landed into controversy after the data breach scandal that has shocked billions of its users spread across the country. Nearly 15.8 million people are Facebook users in Cambodia.
A 21-year-old, Ra Chhay Rath, killed his ex-wife at a school on Thursday then went on take his own life by jumping off from Tsubasa bridge, into the Mekong river in Kandal province.
“It has never happened before. It was the first case,” police spokesman Kirth Chantharith told Reuters.
“We are investigating to find out why he killed his ex-wife,” the official added the man’s body has not been found yet.
Facebook had immediately removed the suicide broadcast from its platform.
Facebook’s spokesman said the company was “deeply saddened by this tragedy” and also the company had removed the video.
“We don’t allow the promotion of violence or suicide on Facebook and have removed the video,” the spokesman said.
“We want people to have a safe experience on Facebook and we work with organisations around the world to provide assistance for people in distress,” his email to Reuters read.
Last year, Facebook had said it would expand its pattern recognition software to detect users with suicidal tendencies but since the company is caught in data breach scandal, any advancements in the near future are still doubtful.