Why do so many expats fall off their balconies in Thailand?

[Nemises]

Those without money jump….those with big money (and are worth more dead than alive) are pushed. 

So, if you have big money keep it quiet and well hidden…. oh, and stay single. 

[dddave]

One of my greatest shocks living in Thailand was when a fellow American, I guy who I only knew casually from several barstool conversations, took a bus to Pattaya, entered a condominium he didn't live in and jumped from the 26th floor.

He was a very personable guy.  He was easy to notice when he walked around the lower Suk. area as he was tall and always had a huge smile.  

When we did talk, he was engaging and articulate, the conversations always pleasant. He wasn't a complainer nor did he denigrate others.  He seemed a really positive person.

 

When his picture appeared along with the story of his suicide hit the press, I was stunned. I couldn't understand why this seemingly happy person could have sunk to such depths that he took his own life.

Stories mentioned he maintained a blog.  I was able to find it and it was generally positive and uncomplaining.  It was only towards the final entries that he mentioned his girlfriend had left him and that his apartment felt empty without her but he didn't seem to dwell on it and appeared to be moving on.   No other clues appeared in the blog.  The press stories did say he had left a note but the details were not released.

I'll never know.

[Lacessit]

Gravity takes over.

[Mickmouse1]

11 hours ago, Chris.B said:

The key word here is "fall" or "jump"?

 

I don't think many do fall, I think most jump. I also think most jump because they have run out of money.

 

PS. In the UK I believe balcony heights are 1.1 m.

 

 

Or LOSE BALANCE 555

[Mickmouse1]

Too much booze...incapable of coping.

 

[Mickmouse1]

MAYBE BECAUSE IN THE UK ,NO BALCONIES IN OUR HOUSES..hahaha.

All drinking in the garden, the most u can fall is from your elvated Pation onto the green . My guests bad habit during my summer garden parties.????????

[PoodThaiMaiDai]

Personal opinion:

70% - Expats who did not calculate the cost of living (COLA) in their retirement plans.

15% - Jilter lovers

10% - Mental illness

5%  - Diagnosed with bad news (family or health)

 

 

[bananafish]

I was staying in this one hotel in Bangkok before, it didn't have a balcony, but it had a full floor to ceiling length window that opened like a door, it opened right out to nothing. It was about 3 floor up, so not crazy high, but you could certainly die if you fell out. 

I like that Thailand doesn't have persnickety health and safety regulations, but that probably plays some part in these occurrences. 

 

Though my reflex thought has always been that most of them are suicides. 

[grantbkk]

1.  They have short railings unlike developed countries.
2.  Drinking
3.  Business disputes lead to homicides that are called suicide in Thailand 
4.  Victim mistakenly tells girlfriend she is the beneficiary of his life insurance 
5.  Run out of money (girlfriend upgrades)

[Freddy42OZ]

11 hours ago, Chris.B said:

The key word here is "fall" or "jump"?

 

I don't think many do fall, I think most jump. I also think most jump because they have run out of money.

 

PS. In the UK I believe balcony heights are 1.1 m.

 

 

 

I agree. I think most of these people are jumpers. It's suicide tourism.  Come to Thailand for one last holiday, perhaps enjoy a week of female companionship, but have no intention of going home to slowly die from cancer or whatever other ailment they have.

Incidentally I've lived her over 10 years and have never seen a balcony railing that was only 700 or 800mm.  

I'm 185 cm tall and most balconies are easily high enough that I wouldn't be able to accidentally fall over one.  

[BusyB]

8 hours ago, LisuLover said:

 Other factors like too much alcohol, too little money and not feeling welcome back home, may speed things up.  

You forgot the 'brother'.

[cyril sneer]

most of them are pushed off by Thai people over money

[Albert Zweistein]

4 hours ago, multatuli said:

Alcohol + British?

Sorry, I forgot they don't drink.

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, dddave said:

One of my greatest shocks living in Thailand was when a fellow American, I guy who I only knew casually from several barstool conversations, took a bus to Pattaya, entered a condominium he didn't live in and jumped from the 26th floor.

He was a very personable guy.  He was easy to notice when he walked around the lower Suk. area as he was tall and always had a huge smile.  

When we did talk, he was engaging and articulate, the conversations always pleasant. He wasn't a complainer nor did he denigrate others.  He seemed a really positive person.

 

When his picture appeared along with the story of his suicide hit the press, I was stunned. I couldn't understand why this seemingly happy person could have sunk to such depths that he took his own life.

Stories mentioned he maintained a blog.  I was able to find it and it was generally positive and uncomplaining.  It was only towards the final entries that he mentioned his girlfriend had left him and that his apartment felt empty without her but he didn't seem to dwell on it and appeared to be moving on.   No other clues appeared in the blog.  The press stories did say he had left a note but the details were not released.

I'll never know.

Easy to hide an depression for other people you do not want to bother! 

[Liverpool Lou]

11 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Thailand ... does have an inordinate number of pi$$heads

Got some stats to back that assertion or is it just your chosen circle of friends?

Edited February 22, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[DaveE13]

1 hour ago, dddave said:

One of my greatest shocks living in Thailand was when a fellow American, I guy who I only knew casually from several barstool conversations, took a bus to Pattaya, entered a condominium he didn't live in and jumped from the 26th floor.

He was a very personable guy.  He was easy to notice when he walked around the lower Suk. area as he was tall and always had a huge smile.  

When we did talk, he was engaging and articulate, the conversations always pleasant. He wasn't a complainer nor did he denigrate others.  He seemed a really positive person.

 

When his picture appeared along with the story of his suicide hit the press, I was stunned. I couldn't understand why this seemingly happy person could have sunk to such depths that he took his own life.

Stories mentioned he maintained a blog.  I was able to find it and it was generally positive and uncomplaining.  It was only towards the final entries that he mentioned his girlfriend had left him and that his apartment felt empty without her but he didn't seem to dwell on it and appeared to be moving on.   No other clues appeared in the blog.  The press stories did say he had left a note but the details were not released.

I'll never know.

People do hide depression from people. I had a few friends over the years have severe depression but to the outside world you never knew . 

[gwynt]

Its not falling that is the problem It's the sudden stop at the bottom

that causes the problem.

[Thunglom]

I think there needs to be more context and perspective here.

Whilst it's very easy to subscribe to conspiracy theories of crime, suicide etc., one needs to bear in mind that this is a perennial problem elsewhere. There areconsant reports of Brits falling from balconies in Spain and elsewhere in Europe and the rest of the world. 

Statistically Brits have the highest suicide rates either.

The differences may include balcony rail height and drunkenness.  It may also be a result of police and media incompetence in reporting these deaths - there is nowhere near the detail the would be carried out I Europe and this lack of detail and follow up is fertile ground for conspiracy theories.

what is needed is reasonable evidence and deduction

[Thunglom]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

It was reported that three thousand British people fall off balconies each year while abroad.

this definitely needs some kind of citation. Especially as it is in the OP.

At least they include the fact that this is not a problem peculiar to Thailand......and probably not even Brits.

I tried the UK national office of autistics and there doesn't appear to be a category that specifically includes "falling from building".

[JohnHans]

The only thing stopping me is, I don't like that falling feeling and from a high balcony its going to be a few seconds, there again there won't be any bad memories of it!!

[Rocking Robert]

I think somebody waking up from a drunk looking for a place to <deleted>. My friend did that from the 8th floor but he want in the hallway,the door locked behind him and yes he was naked 

[kevin612]

When they realized their fortunes disappear in Thailand, too old to earn ???? again.

[DPKANKAN]

5 hours ago, Chris.B said:

Who pushed them then?? 

C'mon. Wake up, smell the instant divorce!!????????????????

[Bruno123]

7 hours ago, LALes said:

An old, grizzled falang came up to me in central Pattaya last week and tried to bum 10 baht.  10 baht!

You know the Pattaya Plunge is looming on the horizon.

 

How much did you give to him... or did you just kick him?

[KhunLA]

You have to be a very special kind of idiot to fall off a balcony.  

 

Thrown or jump off, oh well ... comes down to choice.  Just try not to land on anyone.  That's would be just rude.

[zzaa09]

2 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

You have to be a very special kind of idiot to fall off a balcony.  

 

Thrown or jump off, oh well ... comes down to choice.  Just try not to land on anyone.  That's would be just rude.

Though, I suspect a simple resolution could end this seemingly epidemic of mysterious balcony deaths. 

Choose not to reside in any such complex more than two stories. 

Problem solved. 

[thecyclist]

14 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I see at least two reasons:

 

If someone wants to kill himself how can he do that? Thailand has huge amounts of high floor balconies. That makes this already an "attractive" option. It is a much easier and "securer" way to go than i.e. a traffic "accident", pills, drowning or whatever alternative. And it doesn't even requite much climbing with the the low barriers .

And the decision can be made an execute within seconds. From the moment "I don't want to live anymore" to execution can be seconds. If people want to die without balconies they have often much more time to think twice and change their mind.

 

And then there are those people who are not sure about their life anymore. They take more risks. Part of that is that they don't deliberately want to kill themselves. But maybe they are still tired of life. So if it "happens" then it happens. One famous example was a former bar owner in Bangkok a couple of years ago. The story is that be wanted to climb from one high balcony to another. And he failed. And in the weeks before that he took a lot of risks. Was it an accident? Kind of...

 

But what if you change your mind on the way down? Really high buildings it can take a while to get to your final destination.(you could of course carry a parachute just in case) If you jump from a lower floor you might survive and spend the rest of your life paralyzed or in chronic pain. Shoot yourself in the head is superfast. Poisoning and slashing your wrist, you can call an ambulance if you feel like you have made a mistake.With my extreme fear of heights, jumping would be my last option.More afraid of heights than of death. So I would rather die than jump. 

[Pedrogaz]

16 hours ago, Chris.B said:

The key word here is "fall" or "jump"?

 

I don't think many do fall, I think most jump. I also think most jump because they have run out of money.

 

PS. In the UK I believe balcony heights are 1.1 m.

 

 

I think you mean fall, jump or pushed.

[Chris.B]

1 hour ago, DPKANKAN said:

C'mon. Wake up, smell the instant divorce!!????????????????

 

14 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

I think you mean fall, jump or pushed.

I don't think so. I think most of these guys are living on their own, lonely.

 

[Nkpjed]

16 hours ago, webfact said:

But maybe the time has come to at least force the Thai developers to raise the height of balconies in the future

This is not the problem. How about people being responsible for themselves and aware of their surroundings.