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Can of Worms apologises to parents of suicide victim

Can of Worms has had to apologise to the father of a teenage suicide victim after his story was included in a debate about suicide.

Can of Worms Producer Anna Bateman has had to apologise to the father of a teenage suicide victim after his story was included in a debate about suicide.

Ali Halkic had given his permission for the photo of his son Allem to be used by Zapruder’s Other Films, believing the show would be addressing the issue of bullying.

17 year old Allem jumped to his death from Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge in 2009 after relentless bullying and threats from a former friend. The Can of Worms segment tackled the subject of suicide in a ‘ Worm’ that asked “Is it ok to spy on your kids online?”

But Ali Halkic is upset that the show used a photo of his son before panellist Jason Akermanis described suicide as “cowardly”.

“The comments made by Jason Akermanis can only be described by both (my wife) Dina and I as insulting not only to Allem but to so many other suicide victims and their families,” he told the Herald Sun.

“It is an outrage that comments are made in a public forum from someone who is completely ill-informed.”

However the discussion surrounding suicide wasn’t approached with any form of mockery. It was the most serious part of the show, and ended with support details for Lifeline: 13 11 14.

But yesterday Halkic demanded that TEN remove his son’s photo from last night’s repeat screening.

Producer Anna Bateman said, “We are deeply sorry for the hurt that the inclusion of Allem’s story in our program has caused you and  Dina.”

I guess the show was always promising controversy and a sense of danger. Looks like it may be starting early.

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