John Mellencamp’s 14-year-old son has started a social networking campaign on Facebook that he hopes will get his rocker dad to quit smoking.
The 58-year-old Mellencamp has said many times since his 1994 heart attack that he’s failed in trying to kick his decades-old habit. Mellencamp’s youngest son, Speck, says his dad has promised to quit if he gets 1 million people to join the Facebook group. More than 7,000 people had joined the group as of Tuesday afternoon.
Mellencamp publicist Bob Merlis told The Associated Press that the challenge is legitimate.
The Facebook group is called “1,000,000 to join, my dad john mellencamp will quit smoking.”
So, if you happen to be a fan of John Mellencamp or would love to help a kid in his quest to help his dad kick a dangerous habit, then make sure to keep the numbers counting.
Hong Kong police are on the hunt for the creator of a second Facebook group encouraging teenagers to commit suicide.
The group apparently came to light after police launched an investigation into the case of a 15-year-old boy who tried to throw himself off the roof of his school two weeks ago. The boy was a member of the group.
This new group emerged on Wednesday and nearly 100 people have signed up so far.
Going back to the first suicide group, the South China Morning Post said Friday that the police had already traced the creator of “I have to practice suicide.” It cited police sources saying the culprit was a local teenager who set up the site for fun.
Source [My sinchew.com]
“The police are not going to inspect online activities, but we will try to contact people who have logged onto the page,” Li Jianhui, chief police officer in Yuen Long district, told China Daily.
But he said it would be hard to track down every member as many of them may not be based in Hong Kong.
Mr Li said police and education officials would also be working with parents and teenagers on suicide prevention programmes.
Encouraging a person to kill themselves or assisting their suicide is punishable with a prison sentence of up to 14 years under Hong Kong law.
The South China Morning Post quoted Hong Kong’s Undersecretary for Security, Lai Tung-kwok, as saying the government was monitoring the case.
Source [BBC News]
