Italian man rescued after attempted suicide in Chon Buri Police Station

Sriracha Police Station officers in Chon Buri province rescued an Italian man who tried to commit suicide in a detention room. It was his second suicide attempt.

Police officers called Sawang Pratheep Sriracha Rescue team for help after the Italian man was stopped from hanging himself. The rescuers administered CPR and oxygen before taking him to Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital.

The foreigner was reported to be in stable condition but remained under close observation by doctors and police to prevent him from attempting suicide again.

Police Lieutenant Koson Kitturawanich, who was in charge of the detainee’s care, told Channel 7 that the Italian man was arrested for being in the country without a passport and other relevant documents.

According to the officer, the foreigner was temporarily detained at Saen Sook Police Station in Chon Buri pending deportation proceedings. He previously tried to commit suicide at the Saen Sook Police Station’s detention room, so he was transferred to Sriracha Police Station.

The Italian man arrived at Sriracha Police Station at 6pm and was detained with several other male detainees. Another foreign detainee in the same detention room later called for help at 6.20pm, saying that the Italian man had hanged himself. The foreign man was seen hanging himself with a nylon rope from the prison bar.

The rope he used was the one given to him by the police officers. The Italian man claimed that his trousers were loose and he needed a rope to tie it to his trousers.

A similar incident was reported at Patong Police Station in the southern province of Phuket in April. An Australian man arrested and detained for being unruly in a public place committed suicide in the detention room. It was also reported that he used a rope from his shorts to hang himself from the prison bar.

Typically, the police would seize any weapons or objects that prisoners might have used to harm themselves or others before their arrest. However, in this instance, a rope from his trousers seemed to have been overlooked.

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). Please also contact your friends or relatives at this time if you have feelings of loneliness, stress, or depression. Seek help.