I witnessed an attempted suicide drama today on the way home. A boy (the figure looked like a teenage guy in the evening light) clung precariously on a sloping ledge outside the 15th floor. It's understandable why half the neighbourhood congregated downstairs on a mundane Wednesday night. I found myself sharing their perverse interest in somebody else's misery.
It's interesting to listen to the general chatter. Most people speculated that he won't have the guts to jump. Some criticized his stupidity. Generally, nobody was sympathetic. I wavered between sympathy and dispassionate thoughts.
"Poor guy, either he'll be too stressed to jump or he'll be pressurized into jumping since there is a palpable air of anticipation at ground level."
"Oh man, look at all the resources wasted. 3 fire engines, 1 ambulance, 1 inflated float, numerous civil defence guys, policemen..."
"Sigh, I totally understand how the guy feels... Depression sucks."
"Suicide is a crime you know."
See how callous I am these days! Anyway the real drama happened when the guy finally (after more than an hour) decided to let himself be rescued. The moment he stood up, a net was thrown from the top of the block and a civil defence officer rappelled down and embraced him from behind. There was a collective cheer, claps and wolf whistles. I was very amused. HDB neighbourhoods are never boring.
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2 comments:
wh, civil defence n the police respond to such cases quite frequently.
oh yes, you shld be quite familiar with this kind of situations.
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