Some People Just Suck at Dying

Photo Courtesy of Thairath

AYUDTHAYA – A woman has made ten attempts on her own life, from hanging to stabbing to drowning herself; most recently she tried to overdose on pills – all in the hope of escaping her accumulating debts. She has been lucky and survived all of the attempts – but she doesn’t see herself as ‘lucky’ at all.

Thongkam Pluekchan, 51-years-old, carried Laor Pluekchan’s body, his wife, to Uthai Hospital’s emergency room. Laor was foaming at the mouth and choking on her own vomit.

Doctors saved her in time, cleaned out her stomach and put her in the care of nurses.
Doctors said Laor must see a psychologist to regain her mental health.

Thongkam, the husband, said that his wife had been stressed and that she took 20 stress relief pills, 20 sleeping pills, and 30 gastric pills at once.

Thongkam came home, found his wife foaming on the floor; tried to rush her to hospital but as soon as he kneeled down to carry her away, she turned to him and said she wanted to die at the house and not the hospital. She told him to leave her alone.

Laor lay on the floor and continued to foam until she passed out. Without another thought, the husband rushed her to the hospital.

Thongkam said that his wife has tried to commit suicide since August. The first time, she hung herself but was rescued by her husband. Then she tried to stab herself but her husband managed to take the knife away and was himself, stabbed in the process. Next she tried to smash her head to a pole; jumped from a bridge into a river to drown; ate a hundred pain killers. She has been admitted to the same hospital ten times and has been saved by the same medical team each time.

Thongkam also said that he has to keep knives, sharp objects, ropes, and detergents away from his wife because she will use anything to kill herself.

Laor is deep in debt from three loan sharks who threaten her safety when she doesn’t pay up.

Her waking life is full of fear and anxiety and she wants to die to escape her debts. She said she’s getting sick now anyway, with a nerve problem in her right leg which makes walking painful. A work salary alone isn’t enough to repay the debts. She’s found it hard to even keep up food money. Every day is a new opportunity to die. Her husband has resigned from his job to keep an eye on her.

“Even right now, at this moment, I still haven’t given up the idea of suicide; I still want to die to escape my debt. No one can change my mind that easily.”

Courtesy of Thairath

Writer: Adrian Tse & Chet Chetchotisak