Scottish Man falls from 5th floor room at Jomtien Hotel

[realenglish1]

This seems to be a common occurrence here in Thailand. At lease one if not more jump or fall from a balcony here in Thailand.

Wonder if anything can be done about this

[aboctok]

From the 5th floor, it was unlikely that he was a suicide leaper. Looks like he had some Thai help.

Not all "leapers" are good judges of height. I knew a guy who jumped from the sixth floor and survived. After a long, painful recovery, he tried it again. Same floor, same outcome.

[HooHaa]

We've all been touched by depression during our lives, some more than others. There is a universal consistency amongst survivors of folks who have survived suicide jumps. Their first thought immediately after jumping was, "This is a very bad idea." Just don't do it.

to that end why assume he was depressed?

he could simply have been hammered.

not that unusual in itself, especially in pats

[HooHaa]

This seems to be a common occurrence here in Thailand. At lease one if not more jump or fall from a balcony here in Thailand.

Wonder if anything can be done about this

because it is so very difficult to jump or fall through walls, and jumping or falling off the sofa or a curb rarely results in injury, it seems balcony related incidents get more media play.

[nkped]

From the 5th floor, it was unlikely that he was a suicide leaper. Looks like he had some Thai help.

Forty to fifty feet? I should think that would normally be sufficient.

He must have taken the whole bottle to climb out the wind

I don't think alcohol exhausts the range of possibilities.

From the 5th floor, it was unlikely that he was a suicide leaper. Looks like he had some Thai help.

Why would you think that?

My initial guess was a drunken stumble, sorry about the profiling there!

Or bad judgment such as perching on the railing or attempting to get in his room from his buddy's room after forgetting his key.

Edited July 15, 2015 by nkped

[Shawn0001]

From the 5th floor, it was unlikely that he was a suicide leaper. Looks like he had some Thai help.

Don't forget that Thailand has no building safety regulations and balustrades are often much lower than in Western countries. I believe many of the falls of Westerners are caused by people reaching out to where they expect the rail to be, where the rail has always been on every balcony they have ever been on before, but in Thailand it is 20 cm lower and they miss it and just topple straight over. That's my theory.

[Pattaya46]

Don't forget that Thailand has no building safety regulations and balustrades are often much lower than in Western countries.

// but in Thailand it is 20 cm lower and they miss it and just topple straight over.

They do have safety regulations

and for hotels & condos balustrade height

it's the same value as many European countries.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Pattaya46

[Shawn0001]

Don't forget that Thailand has no building safety regulations and balustrades are often much lower than in Western countries.

// but in Thailand it is 20 cm lower and they miss it and just topple straight over.

They do have safety regulations

and for hotels & condos balustrade height

it's the same value as many European countries.

There is some loosely worded stuff in the Building Control Act that says that the Building Council and acting Minister can set rules on anything to do with safety but there is nothing that I know of which gives any specific safety regulation or even guidance on this.

There is the Building Control Act, the Building Energy Control Act, the Ministerial Regulation on Mechanical and Sanitary Design, the Ministerial Regulation on Waste Water, Ministerial Regulation on Structural Design, Ministerial Regulation on Open Space, Boundary and Building Interval and the Environmental Quality Promotion and Preservation Act, all of which are mandatory, but as far as I know there is no safety regulation of any sort for any building type. APEC were trying to get them to introduce one not so long ago, did they succeed? Perhaps you could post a link to what you are referring to? I am interested as I am currently studying QS.

As for hotels and condos having the "same value" as many European countries, which hotels and condos? In the EU it is set at 900-1000mm. I used to live in a condo in Bangkok with 750mm handrails on the 5th floor, I measured, and I have stayed in a hotel which had rails down below my knees but it was only the 2nd floor. I don't doubt that some have rails at the same height as in Europe but I know for a fact that all do not.

[dabhand]

The Scottish Daily Record has picked up on this story.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/former-scots-soldier-traumatised-tours-6085853

Looks like the guy is a former soldier with issues connected to that.

Well done to 'John' who arranged for his initial hospital bill to be paid and is keeping the family updated.

[Sooo Upto Me]

I have just deleted my humorous remark as I have just read the Scottish Daily Record which says he's a ex soldier from the Afghan war with mental issues.

Hope he gets well soon.

But once again looks like no travel insurance to cover his medical bills.

Anyway good luck mate.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Sooo Upto Me

[Patsycat]

This one really touched my heart. What a kind gesture from the man who paid, and i hope his family can get the cash to get him home. And also for his dad to get there to be with him.

The military in all countries should really up their game in helping soldiers with PTSD.