Officials say no signs of mental illness in man who fell to his death in Pattaya quarantine

The deputy director-general of the Department of Mental Health says a 30 year old Thai man who fell to his death while in state quarantine in Pattaya displayed no signs of mental illness. Samai Sirithongthavorn says the man underwent physical and mental tests while on board the repatriation flight returning him to Thailand from Israel. The Pattaya News reports that this is standard practice for all returnees prior to their arrival in the Kingdom.

“We provided a mental check-up for those returning from overseas and staying in state quarantine. All returnees were asked to complete a mental and physical test as well as reveal their history of mental health. The test results included a risk of stress assessment, depression, and suicide.

“During the first 1 or 2 days, the mental health caregivers would try their best not to disturb the guests in order for them to adapt themselves. And after that in 3 to 5 days, the mental health assessment would be conducted along with their physical health by officers from the mental health centre and the hospital responsible for the care of that quarantine facility.”

Samai says medical teams at quarantine facilities are available at any time if needed, with the option of sending someone to hospital for mental or physical treatment if necessary.

“The patients could contact the medical team any time in case they found themselves in an emergency state and in need of immediate help via LINE or phone. They would be sent to a responsible hospital for further mental and physical treatment if they had mental problems requiring it. But for this fatal incident, he did not show any signs of mental problems and his result was perfectly fine, so the medical team treated him with the usual mental and physical method. The man did not show any unusual signs of stress prior to his leap to his death.”

The PM has sent his condolences to the man’s family in Buriram, with officials from the Department of Mental Health sent to assist family members. An autopsy is being carried out on the man’s body, while police in Pattaya investigate the death.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News