Authorities in Egypt on Friday referred two children to the juvenile court, charged with causing the accidental death of their friend while filming a prank video for the TikTok platform.
The incident dates to early December in the Imbaba area of Giza, when three friends agreed to film a prank video that involved both of them tying up one of them and leaving him inside a dark warehouse for three hours.
When the victim, Mostafa, eventually tried to untie himself, he fell and hit his head on the ground, leading to his death.
After his disappearance, Mostafa’s family tried to search for him or call his phone to no avail, until they learned of his death after he had been taken to the hospital.
Mostafa’s mother said in statements to local media that she called her son’s phone to check on him, but he did not answer, which worried her.
The mother added that she tried to call her son’s phone again, it so happened that his two friends had returned to the place where they had left him, and the call was answered by mistake, so the mother heard someone saying “he is dead” before the call ended.
The suspects wiped all data from his phone, including social media apps and their numbers, in an attempt to hide any evidence linking them to the crime.
The body was found by a child in the neighborhood, who noticed the door of the warehouse was slightly open.
When he entered, he found Mostafa lying on the ground, motionless. The locals called an ambulance, which took Mostafa to the hospital, where the doctors confirmed his death.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
