The body of an elderly disabled man who commited suicide by jumping into the sea was found off Keelung on Tuesday morning. Lai Ching-hai (賴清海), 79, was found dead, floating in the waters of Pisha Fishing Harbor (碧砂魚港).
The body was floating upside down in water 5m deep, with ropes around the neck tied to a small concrete block and red brick that weighed about 15kg in total.
No identification papers were found on the body, so the authorities called the rescue center and gave a description of the corpse.
Soon after, someone called the center and said: “There is a scrolling message on the TV saying that a body has been found in Pisha Fishing Harbor. It might be my father.”
The caller was 50-year-old Lai Lai-fu (賴來富), who then went to the harbor and identified his father’s body.
The younger Lai said his father was a diabetic and had been disabled following an operation.
He said his father had been troubled by his ailments and had told family members several times that he would commit suicide by drowning.
“Our family had tried many times to stop him commiting suicide, but to no avail. It had to end like this,” Lai Lai-fu said.
He said he had last seen his father on Monday night.
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