A Pattaya student who twice has threatened to jump from a Sukhumvit Road bridge finally has been required to remain in a hospital mental ward until he can safely be sent home.
The multi-day forced hold at Banglamung Hospital comes after the troubled teen was pulled off a pedestrian crossing near Soi Nerplubwan Sept. 22, the second time in eight days he threatened to kill himself. On Sept. 14 he was talked down from a similar Sukhumvit overpass in Sattahip.
Bizarrely, the boy was simply sent home after his first suicide attempt, despite him being on medication for depression and clearly tormented by family problems that forced him to live with his aunt, Sanguan.
The 56-year-old aunt said Wednesday that her nephew was calmer, but still cried often and will remain at the hospital to receive regular counseling. He remains on suicide watch.
She said he talked with her and friends that also visited, but refuses to talk about the suicide attempt.
The boy was forced to move out from the family home due to repeated bullying and beatings by his older brother. He now lives in Sattahip, but must commute by baht bus daily to the school in Pattaya where Sanguan works.
The first suicide attempt was set off when a baht bus driver didn’t give him change for a 100-baht bill, leaving him with no money for lunch.