14 DAY TRIAL // According to news reports that appeared in the Chinese media on Saturday, a man, who got stuck in traffic on account of another man threatening to kill himself by jumping off a bridge, got out of his car, and pushed the would-be suicider off the rail. He later said that he was exasperated with the delay, and that this was the other man's wish anyway. Admittedly, the jumper stood on the rails conversing with the police for roughly five hours, during which time no cars were allowed to pass on the road. This led to massive protests from the drivers themselves, each of them busy to get to work.
The angry passer-by, 66-year-old Lian Jiansheng, a former Chinese soldier, broke through the police barrier and headed towards Chen Fuchao, who was dangling above the pit, holding on to the bridge with just one hand. Lian pretended to want to shake the other man's hand, but pushed him off the bridge instead, in front of the police officers, and under the confused eyes of all those watching. Chen was just the last in a long row of would-be jumpers to threaten to kill themselves in that very location since early April, Chinese authorities tell.
“I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interests. They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals,” Lian was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper. Reuters reports that Chen fell about eight meters, but landed directly on a partially inflated rescue mat, wielded by perplexed firemen. He was, however, hospitalized with wrist and back injuries, due to the fact that he also hit the ground to some extent.
The man wanted to kill himself in the first place on account of a building project gone wrong, which made him fall into a two million yuan' ($293,200) worth debt. Authorities were reportedly being insensitive to his situation, and that was what made him resort to the desperate act. In the same spot, on the Haizhu bridge in the Guangzho province, at least 12 people tried to commit suicide over the past two months, the police explains. However, none of them was lent a helping hand by a passer-by, they add.