January 05, 2007	Friday	Zilhaj 14, 1427

WASHINGTON, Jan 4: A 10-year-old boy died in Texas while mimicking the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, police and family members said on Thursday. Sergio Pelico hanged himself from a bunk bed and was found dead on Sunday in his apartment bedroom in the Houston-area city of Webster. The boy’s mother told police he had previously watched a news report on Saddam's death.

Julio Gustavo, Sergio's uncle, said the boy was a happy and curious child.

He said Sergio had watched TV news with another uncle on Saturday and asked the uncle about Saddam's death.

"His uncle told him it was because Saddam was real bad," Mr Gustavo said. "He (Sergio) said, 'OK.' And that was it."

Sergio's mother, Sara Pelico DeLeon, was at work on Sunday while Sergio and other children were under the care of an uncle. One of the children found Sergio's body in his bedroom.

Police said the boy had tied a slipknot around his neck while on a bunk bed.

"I don't think he thought it was real," Mr Gustavo said of Saddam's hanging. "They showed them putting the noose around his neck and everything. Why show that on TV?"

A 9-year-old boy in Rahimyar Khan also apparently hanged himself re-enacting Hussein's execution.

Mubashar Ali, 9, copied Hussein's hanging with the help of elder sister, 10, in his home. He died after tying a rope to a ceiling fan and hanging his neck.