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Five-year-old falls to 19-storey death after being told he could not watch new Spider-Man movie

Police fear the child could have died as a result of trying to imitate the superhero

Jack Simpson
Sunday 04 May 2014 15:54 BST
(Getty Images)

A five-year-old Indonesian boy has died after falling from a Jakartan apartment block just minutes after his mother refused to take him to see the latest Spider-Man movie.

It is feared that the boy who has been named as Valentino could have died by attempting to imitate the superhero that is best known for swinging through the high rises of New York with the aid of webs that he can produce from his wrists.

The incident occurred when Valentino asked his mother Eva, 23, whether she could take him to watch The Amazing Spider-man 2, the latest superhero blockbuster offering to come out of Hollywood.

She said that they could not go due to her having to stay at home and look after Valentino’s one-year-old brother who was ill.

According to police, after his request was declined Valentino ran to his room and locked himself inside.

While trying to open the door, his mother heard a noise which later turned out to be the sound of her son falling from the 19-floor apartment window.

After not receiving a response from the child, his mother was alerted to the fact that a body had been found on the street below.

The boy was rushed to Pluit hospital in the North of Jakarta but pronounced dead by doctors soon after he arrived.

According to police, Valentino’s death could have been a result of the child trying to copy his hero.

Senior police Commander of the force, Suyudi told Malaysian news website Kompas “He liked to imitate films like Iron Man and Captain America after every watch.”

The new Spider-Man movie has been extremely popular in Indonesia since it was released last week and, although Sony haven’t released any figures, they have said that the film has smashed all box office records in the Asian country.

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