Frustrated father foiled in dramatic suicide attempt

In a suicide attempt broadcast live to tens of thousands of TV viewers, a man yesterday threatened to jump from a pedestrian overpass and take his 5-year-old daughter with him.

Thirty-nine-year-old Juan Chih-chung (阮志忠) sat on the edge of a railing of the pedestrian walkway about four storeys high in downtown Taipei, threatening to jump if authorities refused to help him adopt his daughter, who was born out of wedlock.

Holding his panicked daughter in mid-air while slashing his hands, face and neck with a paper cutter, the man then surprised everyone by making several attempts to jump in a bid to keep police away.

The drama ended one hour later when a policeman distracted the man's attention while civilians and three other officers pulled him from the railing and took him down.

Police later said the man's girlfriend -- who had lived with him for 10 years -- had left him a year ago, leaving the girl behind.

Juan told police he wanted to legally register the child as his daughter, but because she was born out of wedlock and because he did not have the mother's consent, his request was denied by authorities.