PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: The 62-year-old man whose corpse was found hanged on Chong Krachok hill on Friday had a history of depression and failed suicides, family told police.
The corpse was initially spotted by a jogger on their descent from the popular tourist attraction early Friday morning.
The “tourist” jogger informed a street sweeper at the base of the hill, widely known for the large troop of macaque monkeys that reside there.
Confirming the sighting at a tree near the 171st of 396 steps to the summit, the street sweeper notified authorities by 7:30am. When police arrived to the scene, there was a crowd of curious bystanders assembled at the base of the hill.
Police secured the scene and proceeded up the hill with rescue workers to retrieve the body.
The body of the man was reportedly surrounded by numerous macaque monkeys. Rescue workers determined the body to have been deceased for no less than 10 hours.
The victim was identified as a local 62-year-old man. TriCove.Asia has withheld the name out of respect for the family. His body was transferred to hospital for further examination.
Police tracked down and contacted family members of the deceased, who was reported to have lived in Koh Lak sub district with his 80-year-old mother. The deceased was last seen by his family at 1:30pm the previous day.
The deceased’s younger sister informed police that the man had a history of depression and failed suicide attempts. In one failed attempt, the man had consumed an excess amount of pills, but family intervened in time and he survived at hospital. Another attempt had failed when a rope broke, police were told.
Based on this history, the family does not suspect foul play and did not wish to pursue further investigation. See Thai language news reports here, and here.
Land of Smiles Sad
Thailand, previously renowned as the ‘land of smiles’ has one of the highest suicide rates in the region. According to the World Health Organization in 2019, Thailand’s suicide rate was 14.4 per 100,000 in 2019.
TriCove.Asia notes that the rate for for males was significantly higher than that for females, or 23.4 to 5.9 %, respectively.
In the first six months of 2020, the suicide rate jumped by 22 per cent. One of the primary drivers of declining mental health in the kingdom is socio-economics.
If you or anyone you know in Thailand suffers from depression or other mental ailments, please dial 1323 for free mental health counselling 24-7. See also international suicide hotlines here.
Author: TriCove.Asia
TriCove.Asia Administrator.