THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Bangkokian kills self with charcoal fire in parked car

Bangkokian kills self with charcoal fire in parked car

A 40-year-old was found dead in his car parked under the Talat Phlu BTS station on Tuesday morning, and police suspect he may have died from smoke inhalation.

Police found a charcoal stove inside the car and the owner, Kritikorn Meemungkra, lying down with a framed photo of his family on his lap.

The first person to spot him was 54-year-old street sweeper Sitthisa Matmongkol. She said she had noticed the car a lot earlier, but did not think it unusual, until she spotted the burning stove inside. She said she tried to wake the person in the car, and after failing to do so she called the police.

The dead man’s wife, Tharida Wattanamongkol, 27, said her husband had tried to kill himself twice before, adding that he had self-abusive tendencies. He worked in a nightclub. Police are investigating his death.

In a Facebook post at the start of this year, BioThai Foundation listed statistics showing 5,086 people had killed themselves between October 2019 to September 2020. This means 7.75 out of every 100,000 people.

BioThai said the number of suicides over the past year was the highest in 18 years, and that the number rose during Thailand’s first lockdown.

Data shows that up to 54,000 people try to kill themselves in Thailand each year, and some 4,000 are successful in the attempt on their lives.

Data for 2020 demonstrates that the economic crisis triggered by Covid-19 was a key factor in suicides.

Suicides have been on the rise since 2017, with men accounting for the highest number of deaths.

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