Westerner Found Hanged On Rooftop Of Unfinished Building On Bang Na-Trat: Bangkok

[Buchholz]

Article on the case from Daily News (in Thai)

Warning: Although pixelated, photos remain graphic

http://www.dailynews.co.th/crime/20247

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[RichardinBKK]

Walk up 32 stories to hang yourself while sitting?

Paul...you nailed it. That certainly does raise some interesting questions...however, if this is a suicide, none of us can ever know what "makes sense" in that persons mind... really ... always sad to read in a land where so many come with dreams of happy days.

[blackthorn2005]

RIP ...its always sad to see someone kill himself , Thai or farang !

Do not assume he killed himself!

[MEL1]

Walk up 32 stories to hang yourself while sitting?

Paul...you nailed it. That certainly does raise some interesting questions...however, if this is a suicide, none of us can ever know what "makes sense" in that persons mind... really ... always sad to read in a land where so many come with dreams of happy days.

People live in any land with dreams and still commit suicide. Why would it be any different in Thailand? Coming here, or comitting suicide here, has little to do with attachment to being here. The inevitable was on the cards anyway. Pre-dispositon to such doesn't pend location, but polar regions.

-mel

[doughpat]

Does anyone happen to know what kilometer marking this building is near? I live very close to an abandoned building on Banga-trat....curious if this is in my neighborhood.

RIP, regardless of where...

[DoctorG]

Have suicide notes gone out of fashion? Of all the "suicides" reported in Thailand, I do not recollect reading about any notes left.

[harrycallahan]

This one's suspicious isn't it? Maybe he was hoisted up and then they dropped him.

[orosee]

Hanging in a sitting position is common in Asia, especially Japan and Korea. It works by cutting off blood supply to the brain, causing loss of consciousness in a very short time if done right. I'd imagine a rather painless way to go. Similar to Mr Carradine not long ago, but with intent to die. About the location one might speculate, perhaps he wanted to see one last sunrise.

[spiritrace]

This death sounds strange.... but so do a lot of deaths in Thailand......Especially a lot of us old guys....reminds me of the African Elephants who go to a certain place to die.... Us old guys seem to do the same.

A bit off the subject. The video is an excellent tutorial on the drop and roll technique. Prevents a lot of broken bones and even death. I fell a few months ago and my drop and roll instinct was still there. I was thankful for that because I could have really gotten hurt. Everyone, men/women, should learn this.

[Whiplash]

It's quite common to hang yourself in a sitting position, they usually take sleeping pills, pass out and the strangulation is a fact. no pain involved.

[wotaplonker]

If one wants to kill himself, Thailand seems to be the place to go. Strange things happens here for sure.

Los is the perfect place to go insane and/or kill one's self in despair,especially if the money is running out amidst such

hedonistic delights of all kinds

[balo]

But this is a westerner so for them it's not common to hang themselves in a sitting position.

Only common suicides involving westerners in Thailand is jumping from the balcony.

[sfbandung]

Suicide or murder, doesn't really matter. OP says he was only 30 years old.

That's very sad.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Suicide or murder, doesn't really matter. OP says he was only 30 years old.

That's very sad.

I hope you mean "doesn't matter" only in the sense that in either case it's sad.

Personally my first reaction is to disbelieve, too many people are killed here with impunity by people with just a little bit of power, and the BiB one way or the other rarely get to bottom of it.

That case where a farang was hanging from a bridge with a plastic bag tied over his head and hands behind his back, ruled a suicide is still fresh in my mind.

[IAMHERE]

If one wants to kill himself, Thailand seems to be the place to go. Strange things happens here for sure.

Yes, and walk up 32 flights of stairs to do it, that is true commitment.

[sfbandung]

Suicide or murder, doesn't really matter. OP says he was only 30 years old.

That's very sad.

I hope you mean "doesn't matter" only in the sense that in either case it's sad.

Personally my first reaction is to disbelieve, too many people are killed here with impunity by people with just a little bit of power, and the BiB one way or the other rarely get to bottom of it.

That case where a farang was hanging from a bridge with a plastic bag tied over his head and hands behind his back, ruled a suicide is still fresh in my mind.

Your first interpretation is correct. It is sad either way. But if the poor chap was murdered the perpetrator should of course be found and punished!

There does seem to be an issue here with too many assumptions of suicide by the BiB.

[Baerboxer]

This is very sad, and unfortunately all too common.

How can someone be found "The man was found in a sitting position" whilst being hanged?

RIP

Quite a few years ago people were found hanged in the sitting position, with their own belts, in one UK city. This included a local martial arts expert, who ran a "night club security" service company and a couple of his friends. They were sitting and near to the ground, hanging from railings. I believe suicide / misadventure was concluded in the absence of other evidence.

[vahack]

so many conspiracies here for every death. look at the pictures. it doesn't look like murder. it looks like he tied the hose to the lower rail, tossed the other end over the top rail, tied off his neck and sat down.

there's many easier ways to kill someone in LOS than forcing him up the stairs of a 32-story building. they'd just stab him and leave him in the street. robbery of a farang gets the same police treatment as farang suicide. i haven't heard of any recent attacks, stabbings or murders of farangs being solved or prosecuted.

props to the rescue workers and police who had to climb 32-stories and carry that guy back down. 3 days baking in the Thailand sun must not have been pleasant.

[pacovl46]

saying his friends went to play the "free running" game on the building and found the body.

What does that mean?

Free running............................no ticket required. No brain either.

What's with the no brain comment??? At least they're doing something productive instead of playing some stupid video games!!!

[pacovl46]

Does anyone happen to know what kilometer marking this building is near? I live very close to an abandoned building on Banga-trat....curious if this is in my neighborhood.

RIP, regardless of where...

The only abandoned 32 story building I know that's directly on that road is the one that's 1km before central and on the same side as central in direction of Pattaya. It should be around km 1.9

[pacovl46]

Indeed, how do you hang yourself sitting down?

You don't. In this case it was asphyxiation. If one is determined enough to die one will wait until he passes out due to the interrupted blood flow to the brain and then dies of lack of oxygen.

[tropo]

tying it onto the billboard and jumping would have broken his neck and been instant as opposed to slowly choking yourself to death. However it is still sad to see people killing themselves.

What happens depends on the weight of the person and the length of the rope. 3 things can happen. A choking, a broken neck or a decapitation.There's a formula that hangmen (executioners) use to calculate the exact length of rope to use.

[richard_smith237]

tying it onto the billboard and jumping would have broken his neck and been instant as opposed to slowly choking yourself to death. However it is still sad to see people killing themselves.

What happens depends on the weight of the person and the length of the rope. 3 things can happen. A choking, a broken neck or a decapitation.There's a formula that hangmen (executioners) use to calculate the exact length of rope to use.

What is that formulae though ? the guy on the bridge (or his friends didn't work that out) but I guess this is what triggered your comment.

And, Yes, I'm sure its easy enough, if determined enough to asphyxiate...

If this is genuine, cudos to the chappy in question for not jumping of a building an potentially hurting and mentally scarring other people.... if you're going to go, considering the least danger for other people remains a relatively considerate option (obviously with in reasonable limits as someone will always be hurt)... RIP to the chappy, I imagine and hope piece can be found some where for those who truly are in its need.

This appears too borderline - I hope a non bias and intelligent forensic examiner will take this case seriously and base the findings of the results on its truthful merits.

[pauljones]

If one wants to kill himself, Thailand seems to be the place to go. Strange things happens here for sure.

Yes, and walk up 32 flights of stairs to do it, that is true commitment.

I speculate he was planning to jump then decided to find some materials laying around and choked himself instead.

Edited April 2, 2012 by pauljones

[RedNIvar]

tying it onto the billboard and jumping would have broken his neck and been instant as opposed to slowly choking yourself to death. However it is still sad to see people killing themselves.

What happens depends on the weight of the person and the length of the rope. 3 things can happen. A choking, a broken neck or a decapitation.There's a formula that hangmen (executioners) use to calculate the exact length of rope to use.

What is that formulae though ? the guy on the bridge (or his friends didn't work that out) but I guess this is what triggered your comment.

And, Yes, I'm sure its easy enough, if determined enough to asphyxiate...

If this is genuine, cudos to the chappy in question for not jumping of a building an potentially hurting and mentally scarring other people.... if you're going to go, considering the least danger for other people remains a relatively considerate option (obviously with in reasonable limits as someone will always be hurt)... RIP to the chappy, I imagine and hope piece can be found some where for those who truly are in its need.

This appears too borderline - I hope a non bias and intelligent forensic examiner will take this case seriously and base the findings of the results on its truthful merits.

This is the formula. Worked the Google machine and found this, the idea is to achieve the "hangman's fracture".

The drop given in the 19th century was usually between 4 and 10 feet depending on the weight and strength of the prisoner. The weight used to calculate the correct drop is that of the prisoner’s body. Up to 1892, the length of drop was calculated to provide a final “striking” force of approximately 1,260 lbs. force which combined with the positioning of the eyelet caused fracture and dislocation of the neck, usually at the 2nd and 3rd or 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae. This is the classic “hangman’s fracture“. The length of the drop was worked out by the formula 1,260 foot pounds divided by the body weight of the prisoner in pounds = drop in feet.

Between 1892 and 1913, a shorter length of drop was used, probably to avoid the decapitation and near-decapitations that had occurred with the old table. After 1913, other factors were also taken into account and the drop was calculated to give a final “striking” force of around 1,000 lbs. The Home Office issued a rule restricting all drops to between 5 and 8 feet as this had been found to be an adequate range. The American Military manual also specifies a similar range for prisoners of between 120 and 200 lbs. body weight. In Britain, the drop was worked out and set to the nearest quarter of an inch … to ensure the desired outcome.

[minikev]

None of us can know yet what really happened. Whatever the reason this is a very sad end to a young mans life.R.I.P.

For the sarcastic posts on here please have a little respect his family may choose Thai visa to gain information.

[RickBradford]

The building where this occurred is called Taifa Group at km 1 of the Bang Na - Trat highway

[TomTao]

RIP the deceased man, this is the second hanging death of a westener found in a sitting pisition, I hope this incident gets a more thorough investigation than the one in Phuket a couple of months ago.

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[anterian]

If by hose they mean the normal garden type hose, it is very difficult if not impossible to tie a hanging (slip) knot in it. Go and try it and you will see what I mean, it kinks rather than curves on a tight bend.

[scorecard]

None of us can know yet what really happened. Whatever the reason this is a very sad end to a young mans life.R.I.P.

For the sarcastic posts on here please have a little respect his family may choose Thai visa to gain information.

Totally agree, well said.