Tourist saved from 20-floor death leap

PATONG: Floris Max Anton Van Sluys, a 20-year-old tourist from the Netherlands, was so distressed when his Thai girlfriend dumped him that he wanted to leap 20 stories to his death. Pol Maj Boonlert Onklang, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that at about 11 am on Friday he received a call telling him that a man was standing on the edge of a balcony at the Andaman Beach Condominium on Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi Rd. Officers arrived at the apartment block to find Van Sluys drunk, and teetering on the edge of the 20th-floor balcony. Maj Boonlert said, “He was drunk and kept rambling about how he and his Thai girlfriend had fallen in love and had stayed together for almost three months. But now that he had run out of money, the girl was seeing another man.” Officers tried to approach Mr Van Sluys, but were forced to draw back when he threatened to jump. Ruengsak Raksakaew, 30, a chauffeur for condominium guests, volunteered to speak to Mr Van Sluys while the police rescue team took the precaution of preparing an air bag for him to land on. K. Ruengsak distracted the young Dutchman by talking with him until officers were able to move close enough to grab him and pull him into the building. Maj Boonlert explained, “Mr Van Sluys told K. Ruengsak that he had left his room at Ton Sai Village in Soi Nanai and had been looking for his girlfriend all morning. He couldn’t find her, so he became depressed and started drinking.” Mr Van Sluys was taken to Patong Hospital for rest and observation. He was discharged yesterday morning and has returned to Ton Sai Village to await confirmation that the Dutch Embassy has organized his return home.