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Passer-By Pushes Suicidal Jumper

AP

BEIJING (May 23) - Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been

contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by

came

up, shook his hand — and pushed him off the ledge.

Chen fell 26 feet onto a partially inflated emergency air cushion laid out

by authorities and survived, suffering spine and elbow injuries, the

official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.

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Suicidal Man Gets ShoveAP4 photos Chen Fuchao falls from a bridge in

southern China after a passer-by pushed him from the ledge Thursday. Chen had

been perched on the bridge contemplating suicide because he is nearly $290,000

in debt from a failed construction project, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Chen survived the 26-foot fall after landing on an emergency air cushion

inflated by authorities.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker)

The passer-by, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng, had been fed up with what he

called Chen's " selfish activity, " Xinhua said. Traffic around the Haizhu bridge

in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had

cordoned off the area.

" I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action

violates a lot of public interest, " Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

" They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise

the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals. "

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Xinhua said Lai was " taken away by police " but did not elaborate.

A police officer who answered the telephone Saturday at a station close to

the bridge confirmed the incident and said it was under investigation. He

refused to give any other details and hung up.

According to Xinhua, Chen wanted to kill himself because he had accrued

$290,000 in debt from a failed construction project.

On Thursday, he made his way to the Haizhu bridge, where 11 other people

have tried to take their lives since April.

Lai volunteered to talk Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua

said. Lai then broke through the cordon, climbed to where Chen sat, greeted

him with a handshake, then pushed.

Photos in the Beijing Morning Post showed Lai, shoeless and in a T-shirt,

saluting after Chen fell.

The paper said Lai was released on bail Friday but did not give any

details. It said he had been on medication for " a mental illness " for decades

and

had been on his way to a hospital for his pills.

Chen was recovering in the hospital, Xinhua said.

Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

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