Passer-By Pushes Suicide Jumper In China

(AP)  Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by came up, shook his hand - and pushed him off the ledge.

Chen fell 26 feet onto a partially inflated emergency air cushion laid out by authorities and survived, suffering spine and elbow injuries, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.

The passer-by, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng, had been fed up with what he called Chen's "selfish activity," Xinhua said. Traffic around the Haizhu bridge in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had cordoned off the area.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest," Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua. "They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Xinhua said Lai was "taken away by police" but did not elaborate.

A police officer who answered the telephone Saturday at a station close to the bridge confirmed the incident and said it was under investigation. He refused to give any other details and hung up.

According to Xinhua, Chen wanted to kill himself because he had accrued 2 million yuan ($290,000) in debt from a failed construction project.

On Thursday, he made his way to the Haizhu bridge, where 11 other people have tried to take their lives since April.

Lai volunteered to talk Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said. Lai then broke through the cordon, climbed to where Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake, then pushed.

Photos in the Beijing Morning Post showed Lai, shoeless and in a T-shirt, saluting after Chen fell.

The paper said Lai was released on bail Friday but did not give any details. It said he had been on medication for "a mental illness" for decades and had been on his way to a hospital for his pills.

Chen was recovering in the hospital, Xinhua said.

[wcreader]

Sad, Life is preious and valuable. It does not matter if one is rich or poor, Asian or Europian or American, in debt or in love, his/her life is valure!!! Shame on Lai, How can one human being to do such a thing to another human being? One should help one another, not killing others whom is in need. May jumper get well soon, and soon, find meaning of life and move forward. Best Wish.

[Frisky1989]

heartless jerk!

[DefiantEmber]

Video footage of the Chinese suicide jumper being pushed off the bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLe6pCRpCbY

[funslideds]

I wonder how many times he's been married so far?!
Posted by stn_sage at 11:25 AM : May 25, 2009

People like that don't get married. They just live together and have several kids.

[stn_sage]

After reading this article, believe it or not, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts popped into my mind!

No kidding! It reminded me of a song on one of their albums called approximately,
' Fake Friends' !

Geez, with a fake friend like this---he comes up to you and shakes your hand, and then he pushes you over the edge---you SURE don't need any enemies! Lai, you mad-hatter, you!

I wonder how many times he's been married so far?!

[determinedone]

My guess is that the old man walked up to the jumper, then the jumper said something like "please help me." Then, they shook hands, and the old man pushed him.

[rushlimpdrug]

My own child just returned from China telling me how gracious the people are.
I'd have to say perhaps Lai needs a med bump!
You're all heart creeper00! Think only the young attempt/commit suicide?
Think again.
Posted by Heartlight


So when will your child be moving to China?
There are plenty of gracious people everywhere including America.
After living in China a few years your child can return to America for
a visit and he can tell of how gracious China is -that would be interesting.

[reality-chek]

Oops! Perhaps my sentence should be modified to "Therefore, perhaps two "Wongs" do actually make a wRight, or would that be Reft? Hmmmmmm! " No offense intended!

[reality-chek]

Whoa! If I remember my political science course in government correctly: a liberal (aka Democrat) is basically a synonym for social(ist) programs and lots of government control of the people; a conservative (aka Republican) is basically a synonym for capital(ist) ideas/ideals that promote individuals and their control over government, also called individual rights. Now "jumper" vs "pusher". Much like an old addage that "your business ( or rights in this case) ends where another persons nose begins!" I intrepret this as the "jumper" had a right to jump or not jump as he/she so chose. However, when this action started interferring with the rights of others, i.e. " Traffic around the Haizhu bridge in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had cordoned off the area," then the line or rights has been crossed. Either jump or get off the bridge! Was the "pusher" correct in his actions? No, but at least he did something to remedy the situation, as in the addage, "if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem!" The "pusher" attempted to resolve the situation because " he had been on medication for "a mental illness" for decades and had been on his way to a hospital for his pills." Who knows? Perhaps he envisioned himself as the "jumper" and just wanted to see what the effects of jumping would be without actually doing it himself. Right or wrong, someone took action to correct the problem! Therefore, perhaps two "Wongs" do actually make a Right, or would that be Left? Hmmmmmm!

[didserve]

Good Job! Pushing him! Well done!

In some ways you gotta love China