Suicide of Burmese worker by jumping from quarantined factory window
After being placed in a Covid-19 quarantine, a Burmese factory worker apparently committed suicide by leaping from his fourth-floor dorm window to his death. The man had worked in the production department at a factory in the Phra Samut Chedi district of the Samut Prakan province.
The factory he worked at manufactures steel products inside a quarantined off area of 10 rai and staff live onsite in a dormitory with 5 floors. The police report that they were notified around 3.30pm yesterday and rushed to the scene where the man was found dead.
The factory has about 500 workers from Thailand and Myanmar, and an outbreak of Covid-19 was discovered 1 week ago. After 5 factory workers tested positive for the Coronavirus, more testing was conducted on people who had come in close contact with the infected workers. 27 more Covid-19 infected employees were uncovered. With the outbreak, they created a quarantine in the dormitory for 200 more at risk workers including the Burmese man who appears to have committed suicide.
Police and medical workers went to investigate the apparent suicide, but entering the quarantined factory was problematic. Everyone coming to the scene of the incident had to wear PPE suits to enter the area that had been quarantined off in order to commence their investigation. Once properly protected, they found the 43 year old Burmese man face down in the motorcycle parking area, having fallen 4 stories.
With the risk of a Covid-19 infection, his body was put into a triple-layered body bag and sent to the Police General Hospital in order for the Forensic Medicine Institute to examine the body and perform a full autopsy.
The investigation is ongoing to examine what factors caused the man to jump several stories to his death. He was known to be a regular drinker, possibly alcoholic, which may have contributed to his death, though there is no information on whether he was intoxicated at the time he jumped from the fourth story window.
So far the police suspect the Burmese worker’s suicide may have been an action stemming from stress. No word if the Covid-19 quarantine was thought to be a contributing factor to his suicide.
If you or anyone you know is in emotional distress, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand 24-hour hotline: 02 713 6791 (English), 02 713 6793 (Thai) or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai).
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
