22 Apr 2004

Fiji reports 4 suicides in 24 hours

2:01 pm on 22 April 2004

A report from Fiji says five people tried to commit suicide within a 24-hour period, four of them successfully.

The Fiji Times reports that he attempts were made between Monday and Tuesday this week.

All the cases involved ethnic Indians, four of them females, and all occurred in Fiji's west and north.

The first involved a 17-year-old girl in Ba, another a 20-year old clerk in Lautoka, the third a young married woman of 18 of Lautoka and the fourth a 40-year old woman in Labasa.

In the fifth case, a 33-year old man drank a poisonous substances and went to the local police station to say he wanted to die.

Police say the man is now in Labasa hospital, fighting for his life.

All the suicides occurred as members of the Lifeline Counselling Service were holding a 3-day workshop in Ba in skills needed to identify depression and suicidal tendencies in students and others.