Teenager, 18, killed himself after losing more than £5,000 on internet betting sites
He had told friends he was feeling depressed and had thought about taking his own life
An 18-year-old who lost thousands of pounds online gambling killed himself after telling his mother that he loved her.
Omair Abbas, from Cardiff, had told friends before he died that he was feeling depressed and had thought about taking his own life.
His body was found in the River Ely on April 13, two weeks after his parents reported him missing.
The teenager had lost more than £5,000 placing bets which had not come through.
After his body was found police searched Omair's bank account and discovered a number of transactions where large amounts of money were paid to betting sites such as Betplay - his £5,000 overdraft was maxed out.
During the inquest into his death held at Cardiff Coroner's Court, the court heard Omair had left for work at the Juboraj restaurant in Cardiff Bay on March 31.
He told his father, Farhat: "I'm off to work now. Goodbye dad."
His father told the court: "He had never said it like this before. It was as if he was saying goodbye for good."
Omair's mum, Saima, at work at the time, was sent a text message from her son which said: "Love you mum."
His work told his parents he had not come into work and this immediately sparked concern.
Saima said: "I sensed something was wrong. My son had left in work uniform but not to go to work. It was totally out of character."
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Police discovered the teenager had last been seen on CCTV at 4.52pm on the day he went missing, walking towards the centre of a roundabout near Cardiff City Stadium.
On April 13 Lee Virgo and Callum Price, who were taking a bell boat course on the River Ely, saw a human body face down in the water.
The police were called, the body retrieved and matched to Omair's. His body was taken to the mortuary of University Hospital of Wales where he was formally identified.
A deleted document on his laptop was also uncovered - it was titled 'suicide' and addresses to his parents. This was not read during the inquest.
Omair's cousin told the court he had checked his cousin's betting account and saw he had gambled away a total of £5,445.
Consultant pathologist Fouad Alchami conducted a post-mortem examination on Omair.
He said the former Cardiff and Vale College pupil had suffered a blunt head trauma consistent with someone falling from height and ruled out any third-party involvement.
He added on the balance of probability the cause of Omar’s death was due to drowning or immersion in water.
A toxicology report showed Omair had not taken any drugs or drank alcohol prior to his death.
Assistant coroner Thomas Atherton said: “It’s quite clear to me his online gambling must have been a significant problem for him.
“It’s a great cause of concern that an 18-year-old can so easily access online gambling and lose such a significant sum of money.”
Mr Atherton came to the conclusion that Omair’s death was due to suicide.
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