Passer-By Pushes Potential Suicide Jumper From Bridge In China

BEIJING — Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by came up, shook his hand _ and pushed him off the ledge.

Chen fell 26 feet (8 meters) onto a partially inflated emergency air cushion laid out by authorities and survived, suffering spine and elbow injuries, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.

The passer-by, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng, had been fed up with what he called Chen's "selfish activity," Xinhua said. Traffic around the Haizhu bridge in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had cordoned off the area.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest," Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua. "They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Xinhua said Lai was "taken away by police" but did not elaborate.

A police officer who answered the telephone Saturday at a station close to the bridge confirmed the incident and said it was under investigation. He refused to give any other details and hung up.

According to Xinhua, Chen wanted to kill himself because he had accrued 2 million yuan ($290,000) in debt from a failed construction project.

On Thursday, he made his way to the Haizhu bridge, where 11 other people have tried to take their lives since April.

Lai volunteered to talk Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said. Lai then broke through the cordon, climbed to where Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake, then pushed.

Photos in the Beijing Morning Post showed Lai, shoeless and in a T-shirt, saluting after Chen fell.

The paper said Lai was released on bail Friday but did not give any details. It said he had been on medication for "a mental illness" for decades and had been on his way to a hospital for his pills.

Chen was recovering in the hospital, Xinhua said.

Comments

[hamchunk]

Get used to it. people. This is the future of our popular society.

[PwnedByJesus]

Maybe Lai should have called China's "911" to complain about the traffic jam like John McCain's brother did.

[OpposingViewpoint]

This story is way over the edge.

[Bubbas]

My bro was in a major car accident in upstate NY - five car pileup and almost lost his life because some guy jumped from a highway overpass.

[Snowspot]

Maybe the guy didn't jump, maybe an elderly chinese man pushed him.

[OpposingViewpoint]

Sweet. :-)

[pokemon]

Who can say they would NEVER think of that?

[brijit]

Now they will.

[williamg]

I remember sitting in one place on the 110 Freeway in Los Angeles for 2 hours, because a guy was threatening to jump off the overpass.

After about an hour, people were screaming out of their car windows for the guy to jump.

It happens here, too.

[cdnnewsjunky]

Wow, looks like China has a few Republicans in the wings.

[hidflect]

More likely libertarians, dear boy, libertarians. Always pushing people to go it alone and take the plunge in determining their own fate.

[MikeDu]

If you're standing on a bridge for four hours you're doing something *other* than committing suicide. You want someone to grab onto you, drag you down, to take official responsibility for the rest of your life. Basicaly you hoping for a 'do-over'. For actual personal nihillism all a person needs is a locked apartment door and a kitchen knife or length of rope. If you require the accompanying theatrics then the purpose of your suicide attempt isn't really suicide.

[MajorKong]

Often times a suicide attempt is a cry for help.

[Jon Gefaell]

I feel your premise is quite valid. Still, we feel great sadness in either case for their pain. Given your appreciation of the dynamics which cause suffering, do you have any idea how to cause it's cessation?

[Blue Dharma]

Well said :-)

[tploomis]

I agree.

[whateverlolawants]

I agree, and I still feel sorry for them and think they need help. Why are we so harsh on people crying for help?

[RoseMerry]

"Passer-by" How typical of anenchephalic journalists. No one who goes out of his and sneaks pass police lines to commit a premeditated act is a passer-by.

[weebils]

lmao. Sorry, I side with Lai on this one.

[Snowspot]

That's kinda sad..

[weebils]

yeah, but it's the truth. It's easy to be sanctimonious and sympathetic when you're not the one sitting in a car for 5 hours.

[OpposingViewpoint]

I can see that. It might have been dangerous to be beside of Fuchao on this one.

[Drterryrest]

5 hours on the bridge and blocking the traffic enough is enough other peoples also got lives to live. Besides there's cushion under the spot, but the one thing I still quite not get it is after 5 hours of in standby to be fair say the cops arrived one hour later so they still got another 4 hours to prepare then why the h.ell the cushion still partially inflated?

[Shawn Drewry]

That was pretty stupid to do on both of their parts. So what if you're in debt. Isn't everyone ?

http://www.ShawnDrewry.com

[OpposingViewpoint]

Yeah. I owe you one for your comments.

[wonderingstar]

Here's another:

"Sixth Jumping 'Show' on Downtown Bridge"
Updated Apr 30 2009
http://www.lifeofguangzhou.com/node_10/node_37/node_85/2009/04/30/124106208563836.shtml

"Traffic on this major bridge was blocked for two hours, resulting in severe congestion on Haizhu and nearby bridges again.

"Many drivers and passers-by were annoyed by the man, criticizing and booing him.

One rescuer complained, 'We are fed up with these things!'

The downtown Haizhu Bridge has become the most common place for jumping attempts of this kind.

Five of the six cases this month were all for attention. The men sought redress for respective problems, but none really wanted to jump to their death.

Most interviewed citizens were annoyed with the frequent attempts. Some people advised that the authorities should take measures against them, such as installing anti-jumping facilities on the bridge.

However, one official reckoned that such bridge renovations were not realistic. "What should the renovations be? And are all the bridges to be renovated?" he said."

[whateverlolawants]

I would say the frequency of the attempts reflect the society. If these people were seeking redress, as other commenters have noted with more detail about Chinese society, doesn't that reflect poorly on China? Sure sounds like it to me, although I certainly concede that suicide happens everywhere. Problems happen everywhere, but China is not a great place for seeking any redress against the myriad bad things that happen (often due to official policy or lack of proper oversight.)

[MyMindSpray]

No matter what you say we've all had that demon on the back of our head, and finally someone did it. At least the guy survived.

[JakeMontero]

bet you a pizza the guy who pushed him is a hu ff post blogger

[Perry Clease]

One of the neocon trolls that hang around here

[OpposingViewpoint]

Cheney made him do it?

[MyAudacity]

I guess it was an "either piss or get of the pot" moment. I'm not mad at him!