Taiwan Quick Take: Suicide figures up

Prosecutors revealed that there were 4,100 cases of suicide last year, an increase of 858, or 26.4 percent, over the level of the previous year, according to statistics released yesterday by the Ministry of Justice. Suicides registered the largest growth among the 18,769 deaths that prosecutors investigated last year, according to the ministry. It noted that in 2004, 1,307 fewer cases were examined by prosecutors. Of last year's total deaths, coroners conducted autopsies on 1,768 cases, or 9.4 percent. Autopsies were conducted on more than 80 percent of the 328 suspected murder cases. Of the 18,769 deaths, 5,229 were caused by illness, followed by 4,634 from traffic accidents, 4,100 from suicide and 3,893 from accidents, officials said. Other causes of deaths included drowning, shock from toxins or poisons (including drug abuse), falling from heights and "unknown reasons" -- which totaled 179 cases.