The Judiciary Police (PJ) were notified by the Fire Services Bureau (CB) at 7:24 a.m. on Saturday that an 86-year-old local man had committed suicide by hanging himself at his flat on Estrada do Canal dos Patos in Ilha Verde earlier that day, PJ spokesman said in a statement that day.
The victim, who had had suicidal thoughts, hung himself with a light-coloured cotton scarf from the top of the stainless-steel balcony grill, the statement said.
At about 6 a.m. on Saturday, the victim’s family member, who returned home from work, rang the doorbell as usual and waited for him to open the door. After ringing the doorbell several times, no one answered the door, so the family member entered the flat in the company of the building administrator, where they found the victim hanging on the balcony, according to the statement.
The statement pointed out that a preliminary examination of the body showed that the deceased had no suspected criminal injuries, but the exact cause of death has yet to be determined by forensic examination.
The case has been listed as a dead body found, the statement added.
People contemplating suicide, or those suspecting that a person is at risk of suicide, may phone Caritas Macau’s Life Hope Hotline (2852 5222) or the Social Welfare Bureau’s (IAS) 24-hour Counselling Hotline (2826 1126).
Image courtesy of Harvard University
