[Top: Students at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in Nanyang Technological University, looking at the scene where a student had jumped to his death after stabbing a professor. Below: Bloodied clothes and first aid kits where the professor was treated.]

IT'S sometimes nearly impossible to identify a young person affected by depression.

Psychiatrist Brian Yeo told The New Paper that in some cases, youths act on impulse and their actions can be unpredictable.

He said: 'Older individuals usually exhibit changes in behaviour - such as poor sleep and poor appetite.

'If they are usually very outgoing, they can also suddenly become withdrawn.'

These warning signs, however, may be more difficult to spot in younger people.

He said: 'Nowadays, the things people can look at include a young person's blog or Facebook profile.

'These are places where they can share their experiences online. They also tend to be more in touch with their darker sides when they are online.'

He added, however, that it may be still difficult to determine if a youth is depressed, going solely by online behaviour.

He said: 'There are quite a number of them who write that life is meaningless, and that there is no point in living.

'You can't simply say, based on that, that they are suicidal.'

He reiterated that because youths are more likely to be unpredictable, it is not surprising that they do not exhibit any tell-tale signs of depression.

Liew Hanqing

VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS

13 AUG 2003

Associate Professor Lee Kwok Hong, 47, from the National University of Singapore (NUS), was attacked on campus.

Ng Kwang Lim, a mentally ill technical officer, burst into a conference room at the Engineering faculty, and slashed Prof Lee on the neck with a paper cutter.

The professor bled to death, and Ng was given a life sentence.

23 APR 2002

Cisco officer R Sathasivam shot himself in the head after failing in his attempt to murder his estranged wife at her workplace in the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, in NUS.

His wife was shot in the chest, but the bullet narrowly missed her heart, by 2cm.

Her colleague, who tried to stop the attack, was shot in the finger.

HELPLINES

Samaritans of Singapore (SOS): 1800-2214444

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-2837019

Sage Counselling Centre: 1800-5555555

Care Corner Mandarin Counselling: 1800-3535800

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This story was first published in The New Paper.

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Special: Student stabbed professor at NTU