Sunday, May 24, 2009

Man to Suicide Jumper: "Kill Yourself On Your Own Dime!"

A man threatening to commit suicide by jumping from a Chinese bridge was approached by a passer-by who shoved him over the edge.

The drama got underway when Fuchao Chen climbed on to Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou and threatened to jump. He told police he wanted to kill himself because he was $293,000 in debt following a failed construction project,

Traffic around the bridge was stopped for five hours while officers tried to coax Chen to safety. Retired soldier Jiansheng Lai at first volunteered to try to talk Chen down but was turned away by police. But that didn't deter Lai in the least. The intrepid soldier then broke through the police cordon and climbed to where Chen sat. After first greeting the suicidal Chen with a handshake, Lai then pushed him off the edge.

Pictures taken by reporters showed him saluting to the crowd after Chen fell onto a partially-filled emergency air cushion. "I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish," the Lai said. "Their action violates a lot of public interests. They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

According to reports, Chen suffered spine and elbow injuries and is recovering in a Guangzhou hospital.

No comments: