Quirky Farang Suicides
Thailand never fails to amaze even during the sunniest of times. A uniquely Thai thing remains how farangs commit suicide in the kingdom. Take the Italian who recently succeeded in jumping from a bridge – supposedly with a rope around his neck – while the laws of physics separated his body from the head and the head remained nicely kept in a plastic bag, hanging high over the Chao Phraya for hours.
“Probably suicide,” we’re warned. And which nation wants to surpass Thailand’s astonishing rate of foreign jumpers – jumpers from Thai balconies that is. Over the years in Thailand I read of if not hundreds of farang fellas who chose to end their lives by taking a step too far. Jumping from a balcony isn’t a common way of committing suicide in the West – but not only this statistic makes you think:
One of the strangest suicides I came across was a Swiss-Italian resident of Bangkok who was found expired in his bed with his arms and legs tied behind his back – and a plastic bag over his head. Death by suffocation, was the verdict of Bangkok’s mighty in brown. Indeed the world just lost a uniquely talented artist who was able to tie up his arms and legs while putting a bag over his head. “By rocking his body,” was the official word.
Some suiciders have their credit cards and belongings taken away before – or after? – jumping, while others are lucky enough to cheat death. Some years ago some “nipple cream” was all the rage in Bangkok. Punters were knocked out while enjoying their consolation prizes and woke up hours later with a drifting mind not remembering what happened. May have been potential building-jumpers.
Not that I’m accusing any working girl of getting what is legally hers – or slightly more of it. But quite some healthy farangs die in the act and nobody really knows why that many Western and also Asian tourists and residents end seemingly trouble-free lives prematurely by jumping off high buildings or turning physical laws upside down.
Naked farang building-jumpers are such a common species already in mainly Pattaya and Bangkok that a few words will have to suffice in the paper for a mention. Others would say that many foreigners perish under suspicious circumstances in Thailand, with foul play being instantly ruled out. But hey, I’m not saying. I’m just saying.
To play it safe: Living in a high-floor condo in Thailand and having a relationship may not be conducive to one’s longevity.
And mind bridges and anything that tastes strange or feels bizarre …
Talking about paranoia and the Italian and his hanging head, there’s already a copycat looming – wish him luck:
Last year a 60-something guy jumped out the 16th-floor window at a friend’s apartment building.
They said he was wasted and thought he could fly. But I wonder if he wasn’t just wasted and someone else knew he couldn’t…
Some of the suicides are probably genuine. It’s well known that the suicide cluster phenomenon depends on copycats. It’s for this reason that Western media often plays these things down. You can rely on the competitive Pattaya press to cover these sad events though I have noticed that the Pattaya People has surrendered its lead in chronicling the Pattaya crime wave recently. Competition between the four papers being what it, is I am not too surprised to see that Pattaya Today seems to have abandoned its long held policy of not reporting violence and started to cover this sort of thing a bit more. The thing about a suicide story is that it’s outside the unofficial but enforced quotas on reported violence which gives the stories a wider distribution than a suspicious death would be likely to get.
Whether or not individual cases are actually suicides, I agree with you that defenestration has long been a traditional cover for murder. An interesting point for relationship insurance is that while it is illegal to own a house in your own name, unless the house is very tall, it’s difficult to guarantee a terminal leap. Calculating partners may decide that if you are dumb enough to buy a house you are dumb enough to continue to be exploitable in the future. This may encourage them to let you have a future. Dealings with the kind of cynical farang who insists on owning their own property are likely to be less rewarding and therefore more frustrating. The homicidal impulse is very close to the surface in many Thai people. It’s an ill-advised person who ignores this fact of life in the LOS.
Never has the suspension of disbelief worked so well.
I would love to see you put together a comprehensive list of quirky farang suicides in Thailand. Over the years I have seen lots of obviously bogus stories. I wish I had saved them because it would be quite a tale. It’s also amazing how many farang commit suicide while the police are visiting them.
Well, in Thailand I don’t rule anything out. This guys story could be totally legit, yet in my days in BKK, I have met scores of people who I would say have “serious issues” and tell stories of the most unimaginable sort. He could people an attention seeker or a speed junkie all spun out. But again who’s to say they are’t all true – mix “crazy” person with Bangkok and you are likely to get an output that is off the charts. In a sort of perverse way, it is these type of stories and people that make BKK the fascinating and scary place it is.
One wonders though, if the guy is so freaked out that the mafia could be after him, why is he publishing on YouTube his upcoming itinerary? And what’s with a tuk-tuk driver just happening to have a news article in his back pocket that matches his story? Coincidence or just part of the make believe world he lives in? Maybe he wants to leave evidence in case he really gets whacked. Anyways, in any country, if you hang out with speed dealers then you are setting yourself up for trouble, and even he admits that.
I guess the combination of alcohol and recreational drugs can have some impact on the numbers. Farangs treating their “girlfriends” like shit might also play a part but no doubt the men in brown are quick to write off suspicious circumstances as to not scare away potential tourists.
Interesting post!
Let’s add Carradine’s unintentional Suicide by Masturbation:
http://thailandjumpedtheshark.blogspot.com/2009/06/grasshopper-death-of-david-carradine.html
BangkokDan
I just don’t get it. How can a man die by masturbating in Bangkok? Why is a man in Bangkok masturbating for in the first place?
I say call in the FBI.
Farangs seem to drop like dead flies in Bangkok. There have been lots of bodies found naked.
Instantly put down to kinky sex, our drugs. But I would bet money on murder in many of these cases.
i love Thailand but learn the culture or you may come to harm big style.
[...] Or try it yourself. Tie up your genitals, neck and – most importantly – hands behind your back. Running into troubles? Just another quirky farang suicide. [...]
[...] then again, talk about quirky suicides in this promised land. How many balcony doors are locked from the inside after another expat with [...]