'Debt-ridden' Austrian 53, found hanged in Phuket apartment parking lot

[PCA]

"The landlord said that the deceased had failed to pay his rent for two months."

Nothing's changed. He still owes 2 months rent.

you must be in the loan shark biz I guess. This sort of contribution is giving shivers to sanity.

[MW72]

Poor choices lead to disaster.

He was on a tight budget, but I see he had a car key on his key chain.

You don't need a car to get by in Thailand, especially if you are broke.

I wont say RIP, my thoughts are with Chris because I had a shitty dad too.

I'm lucky enough not to have had a shitty dad so I appreciate your sentiments. No point wishing RIP on the dead but thoughts must be with those left behind.

[digibum]

I just dont understand why some people are so desperate to remain here, even up to the very last stages of desperation.

Even if you dont have family who can help pick you up, surely theres some kind of welfare help or safety net available that one can rely on in Australia?

What you are saying is that you don't understand the severely depressed.

Don't want to speak for OP but I think he's saying the same exact thing I think when I hear about people taking their own lives rather than leave Thailand.

I understand depression. What I don't get is why some people are so desperate to stay in Thailand. It's their clinging to Thailand or the lifestyle they have (or had) in Thailand that often exacerbates their problems which leads to the depression.

And it's not that I think bad things about these people. It's just that I don't grasp why they don't do more to mitigate their problems before they get to a point where taking their own life is perceived to be their only option.

I'm sympathetic to where they must be emotionally to take their own life but I know many multiples (maybe 50x or 100x) of more people back in the US than I know in Thailand, yet, I know far, far more people in Thailand who have either taken their own life or are somewhere in the midst of a downward spiral (alcoholism, drug addiction, etc). The common thread that runs through most of these situations is a desperation to stay in Thailand at all costs.

[minikev]

Poor choices lead to disaster.

He was on a tight budget, but I see he had a car key on his key chain.

You don't need a car to get by in Thailand, especially if you are broke.

I wont say RIP, my thoughts are with Chris because I had a shitty dad too.

What a cold cold thing to say!

The only way you could comment on the kind of father he was is if you knew him well. I doubt that.

He left rent with his final note! Give him some dignity.

The key you talk about looks like a Yamaha or Honda . Not exactly big money at the pawn shop.

Yes poor choices can lead to disaster, or simply bad luck. You should thank whatever you do or don't believe in that you are not in the same situation.

We don't control our destiny. We can of course steer it the way we want it to go but there are many other interfering factors. Some good some bad.

[digibum]

I just dont understand why some people are so desperate to remain here, even up to the very last stages of desperation.

Even if you dont have family who can help pick you up, surely theres some kind of welfare help or safety net available that one can rely on in Australia?

You've obviously never been there. I got home from a night shift on September tenth 2001 to find my wife up and dressed, telling me she was leaving. Spent the day watching footage of the twin towers on TV and thinking "this is nothing compared to my problems". Totally irrational, but that's the state I was in. I got through it, and it made me have far more empathy with people than before, when I would judge them as mad or sane, with no shades of grey. Very sad he had no one to turn to.

I'm pretty sure every single human being above the age of maybe 18 has been there at one point or another. I think the point the OP was trying to make is that there are an abnormally large number of people (compared to the population as a whole) who decide to make their last stand in Thailand.

Yes, depression is real. You can be sympathetic or empathetic but it shouldn't stop you from trying to understand and or at least question why the number of people in that psychological state seems to be so high in Thailand.

[digibum]

Terrible shame to go out like this. I learned 26 years ago here that no one gives a dam about you, especially Thai, when you have no money. Act broke and see for yourself. I did a little 'experiment' and confirmed this. BTW: This is true in your home country as well. If not, reply here and tell me I'm wrong.

I can confirm that if you run experiments trying to prove that people don't care about you, you will come to the conclusion that people don't care about you.

[namatjira]

I have to stop reading this <deleted>, if I commit suicide II would hate the bitter banter of you all cold hearted simple minded people on Thai visa, suicide is not exactly rare, like depression, we do not understand the history of this individual, Thailand was not the cause, there were other things and worries working in his mind, maybe if he had some decent friends, and not of the Thai visa type jockey life might have been a little better.....good friends are rare, but they sure help in a mans life, and you do not normally meet good friends at the local bar, my father in law was a funeral director, and many times the widow would come in and say ...oh Joey had so many many friends down at the pub, every night he would come home and talk about them, I think I meet need a couple of hundred of hymn sheets for the funeral, they will all be there....he would say, not so necessary to print so many, save your money....sure enough....nobody turns up and the hymn sheets sit having never been sung...it's sad , so sad.....friends could have and would have made a difference......

[fish fingers]

RIP

The only time in my life I couldnt see a way forward was also on Phuket in early 2012. After taking a 'life' gamble everything had gone tits up and not many people were willing to offer help or support.

I still remember that road I walked along to the beach one morning at the lowest point. It actually sends a shiver up my spine, thinking back.

Edited September 6, 2015 by fish fingers

[timendres]

Everyone is assuming that debt was his reason for the exit (likely because it is suggested by the new article).

But there could be far deeper reasons for the departure. All we know is he says "I cannot go any further". That could mean anything, and to me sounds like something far more than just dealing with money. It is possible that the money issues were just the final straw.

[Time Traveller]

I just dont understand why some people are so desperate to remain here, even up to the very last stages of desperation.

Even if you dont have family who can help pick you up, surely theres some kind of welfare help or safety net available that one can rely on in Australia?

One has to get to Oz first.I'd rather be skint here than Oz.

well you're a bit odd.

[Old Croc]

As the news source that initially provided this story has now corrected the subject's citizenship to Austrian, perhaps this thread could also be adjusted?

[fish fingers]

Nothing's changed. He still owes 2 months rent.

Threads like these seem to develop alot of heat but less in the way of light.

Edited September 6, 2015 by fish fingers

[balo]

If I was pennyless I would never dream about taking my own life.

If i were in Thailand I would visit the local temple , even beg for food . I would look for options around me because I know they exist.

Sad that other human beings do not see the same options available to them .

RIP.

[heybuz]

when youv'e got the black dog rational thinking is out the window.condolences

[HerbalEd]

Utterly tragic.

Reading his note brings a lump to my throat. Heaven knows what kind of desperation he must have felt to subject himself to this painful and frightening 'solution'

It takes guts to do this. However bad his situation was, it is sad that the courage he needed to kill himself was not enough to go out and seek help instead,

One also wonders whether his debts will now become the responsibility of his next of kin, who might have otherwise baled him out before he decided to do this?

That would be doubly tragic.

RIP to this troubled soul, and condolences to all those he left behind.

It often takes way more courage to live than it does to kill oneself.

[mcfish]

I just dont understand why some people are so desperate to remain here, even up to the very last stages of desperation.

Even if you dont have family who can help pick you up, surely theres some kind of welfare help or safety net available that one can rely on in Australia?

One has to get to Oz first.I'd rather be skint here than Oz.

well you're a bit odd.

+1 This is the last place I would want to be Skint.

RIP. somebody commits suicide every 40 seconds , quite staggering really http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-statistics.html

[Beng]

Sad indeed. RIP.

[Remi080]

I just dont understand why some people are so desperate to remain here, even up to the very last stages of desperation.

Even if you dont have family who can help pick you up, surely theres some kind of welfare help or safety net available that one can rely on in Australia?

You dont understand becous you'll never had been that deep in trouble, or just had a point in your life that all you had and did in your life was just enaugh to quit the life your living.

Desperate enaugh to leave Australia hope for a better life in Thai. Im sorry for those who could not manage it in thai, so take you own life is last best option, better die in what they call " paradise" than die in there home country. I can somehow understand it very well, as i had a close call myself.

[HLover]

Another news site states this guy is Austrian,

Was it an American site? They occasionally get countries confused. They will sort it out soon.

[HLover]

sad news regardless of the circumstances.

Edited September 7, 2015 by HLover

[Farang99]

I just dont understand why some people are so desperate to remain here, even up to the very last stages of desperation.

Even if you dont have family who can help pick you up, surely theres some kind of welfare help or safety net available that one can rely on in Australia?

There may be in Australia, there certainly is not in UK. Nowadays, even as a British citizen with an NHS medical card you can't even get health care without a permanent UK address.

[happy Joe]

Je dois arrêter de lire cet <supprimé>, si je me suicide II détesterait la gouaille amer de vous tous cœur froid simples d'esprit des gens sur les visas thaïlandais, le suicide est pas exactement rares, comme la dépression, nous ne comprenons pas l'histoire de cet individu , la Thaïlande était pas la cause, il y avait d'autres choses et les soucis de travail dans son esprit, peut-être si il avait des amis décents, et non de la vie de jockey de type de visa thaïlandais qui aurait pu être un peu mieux ..... bons amis sont rares , mais ils aident-vous dans une vie de mans, et vous ne répondent pas normalement de bons amis au bar local, mon beau-père était un directeur de funérailles, et de nombreuses fois la veuve viendrait et dire ... oh Joey avait un si grand nombre beaucoup d'amis au pub en bas, chaque soir, il revenait à la maison et d'en parler, je pense que je rencontre besoin d'un couple de centaines de feuilles de cantiques pour les funérailles, ils seront tous là .... Il disait, pas si nécessaire d'imprimer un si grand nombre, économiser votre argent .... bien sûr .... personne ne se tourne vers le haut et les feuilles de cantiques sit avoir jamais été chanté ... il est triste, si triste ..... amis auraient pu et auraient fait une différence......

Time for me to Cite this maxim of Jules Renard:

"There are no friends, only moments of friendship"

[kerrysum]

Well can't really reply on this one.... As to what has happened, or why he did it.... As it is said, never put all of your eggs in one basket. There maybe needs to be an openness.... Who am I to judge what happened or what he was up to? But I guess I would say rest in peace.... Maybe it is fate, ego, or what ever one wants to call it...... There is just not enough information to make such a call. Hung in a parking garage is not the way I would choose to go... So therefore I can never make a call on this thing. Only thing that I do know? Is how to be myself. I give my condolences to the Family!

[ldnguy]

It makes me sad.

53 and no options.

R.I.P.

While this is very sad, he did have options. He could have gone back to his home country and got a job. For some reason, many farangs refuse to take that option. I know a couple that are in desperate situations, yet refuse point blank to even think about going home to sort themselves out. Their choice though.

There is no option in first world countries....Only Safety Net, which you can survive on NOT LIVE...its very hard to get a job in first world countries that a HUMAN BEING DESERVES..not flip the burgers back home.

First world countries are only Marginally better than Thailand...Sure, hand outs, least corruption and all..BUT still Human Beings are much larger than that...They Need LIFE STYLE...Not Hand Outs..

We need women, we need to go out during the weekend and not pay 7 dollars for a beer, We need to eat few times a week outside, we need to be happy, go out on a swim, make friends, get drunk sometimes, eat fruits, eat fish, watch movies...

Six months in Thailand gives you a LIFE you dream off that first world countries cannot provide in 20 years.

You cannot fool people with Hand outs and Job anymore to breathe...WE NEED LIFE...

He chose business, unfortunately, it did not work out..he lived his LIFE till he stayed in Thailand, I would have done the same

That's simply not true. Most people in places like UK, Australia, USA, etc have good jobs. Most are employed. It's relatively easy to get a job if you really want one. Nothing wrong with flipping burgers for a few months while you're sorting your life out and looking for something better.

The vast majority of people in these countries have a great lifestyle. They don't need handouts because they mostly have jobs.

But if you prefer Thailand you don't have to stay back in your home country forever. You just go back for a while to sort yourself out then come back to Thailand. If you enjoy Thailand so much, then surely it's better to go away and come back stronger than to end it all.

[LeungKen]

Just to update

the Phuket News is now reporting that the expat was Austrian.

http://www.thephuketnews.com/debt-ridden-austrian-53-found-hanged-in-phuket-apartment-parking-lot-53987.php

[BuaBS]

If I was pennyless I would never dream about taking my own life.

If i were in Thailand I would visit the local temple , even beg for food . I would look for options around me because I know they exist.

Sad that other human beings do not see the same options available to them .

RIP.

When I run out of money , I check out . I don't beg for food or handouts.

[bamukloy]

I just dont understand why some people are so desperate to remain here, even up to the very last stages of desperation.

Even if you dont have family who can help pick you up, surely theres some kind of welfare help or safety net available that one can rely on in Australia?

You've obviously never been there. I got home from a night shift on September tenth 2001 to find my wife up and dressed, telling me she was leaving. Spent the day watching footage of the twin towers on TV and thinking "this is nothing compared to my problems". Totally irrational, but that's the state I was in. I got through it, and it made me have far more empathy with people than before, when I would judge them as mad or sane, with no shades of grey. Very sad he had no one to turn to.

Actually i have had serious depression and i know how it sucks. The answer, as far as far as doctors are concerned anyway, is drugs. The cruel trick is when you try to give them up cold turkey after 6 months. My depression was nothing compared to that hell on earth.

I was saying i dont understand why people cant bring themselves to go home before it comes to that.

However, i guess if you had absolutely no support base whatsoever to go back home to, it would be a very sad and desperate situation.

[bamukloy]

It makes me sad.

53 and no options.

R.I.P.

While this is very sad, he did have options. He could have gone back to his home country and got a job. For some reason, many farangs refuse to take that option. I know a couple that are in desperate situations, yet refuse point blank to even think about going home to sort themselves out. Their choice though.

There is no option in first world countries....Only Safety Net, which you can survive on NOT LIVE...its very hard to get a job in first world countries that a HUMAN BEING DESERVES..not flip the burgers back home.

First world countries are only Marginally better than Thailand...Sure, hand outs, least corruption and all..BUT still Human Beings are much larger than that...They Need LIFE STYLE...Not Hand Outs..

We need women, we need to go out during the weekend and not pay 7 dollars for a beer, We need to eat few times a week outside, we need to be happy, go out on a swim, make friends, get drunk sometimes, eat fruits, eat fish, watch movies...

Six months in Thailand gives you a LIFE you dream off that first world countries cannot provide in 20 years.

You cannot fool people with Hand outs and Job anymore to breathe...WE NEED LIFE...

He chose business, unfortunately, it did not work out..he lived his LIFE till he stayed in Thailand, I would have done the same

That's simply not true. Most people in places like UK, Australia, USA, etc have good jobs. Most are employed. It's relatively easy to get a job if you really want one. Nothing wrong with flipping burgers for a few months while you're sorting your life out and looking for something better.

The vast majority of people in these countries have a great lifestyle. They don't need handouts because they mostly have jobs.

But if you prefer Thailand you don't have to stay back in your home country forever. You just go back for a while to sort yourself out then come back to Thailand. If you enjoy Thailand so much, then surely it's better to go away and come back stronger than to end it all.

Well said, but as far as the general happiness factor of the people in the countries you mention, im not entirely convinced.

In my country anyway it seems a big number of people are addicted to alcohol, medications or illegal drugs

[theswedishguy]

Guess he didn't live in a high rise building. Usually these "sad" people jump over the railing.

Always "no foul play", but we know the truth.

[Shermanator]

If I would have given up any time I was at about that same stage in my life, I would have been dead three times by now. Although I find this story very sad, especially for his son, I'll never get my head around the fact that people kill themselves about financial debts.

As one poster wrote here, you can go to a temple, even beg for food or whatever, and most likely there will be a light coming at the end of the tunnel, but you simply can't take your own life; and if you have kids, there are even more reasons to move on.

I have a friend here in LOS whow was living on scraps and coconuts, was pampered back by a Thai family who felt sorry for him, and today he is one of the most successful professional foreign businessmen in our neighboring province, has wife and kid, nice house, two cars, etc... I went through hell several times myself, one time (tsunami) literally and even saw the "other side", but I am back and still here, never gave up... I found that I surfaced stronger and a better man after each desaster I went through. I thanked the lord for being taught another lesson and today am able to appreciate and value especially non-monetary things in life much more. I also believe that one who can't make it through all of his life lessons will start again from base 1.

However, RIP poor lost soul - I hope you have found the peace that you were searching for by now and made peace with god.