Covid-19 patient commits suicide

SERDANG: A 66-year-old retiree who tested positive for Covid-19 twice in 11 days and faced a hefty medical bill is believed to have resorted to taking his own life in Seri Kembangan here, Friday night, New Straits Times reported.

The man, who lived with his wife, had first tested positive for Covid-19 on Jan 7 at a private hospital before testing positive again on Jan 18.

Ever since the first positive test result, the man had been feeling very depressed and repeatedly told his wife that “he is better off dead than suffering from Covid-19”.

“When the second swab test taken on Jan 18 was again positive, he became worse and repeated his negative thoughts to his wife. The victim had also gone to his bank with his wife Friday to withdraw RM40,000 for his medical bill,” said district police chief Assistant Commissioner Razali Abu Samah.

He said a check at the couple’s home showed no signs of robbery.

“Neighbours also did not hear any quarrel, or people shouting, to raise any criminal suspicions in his death.

“According to his wife, her husband often complained of pain and was depressed since his Covid-19 test returned positive. He often told her ‘it is better to die than to be sick like this’,” he said. Due to the victim’s health status, Razali said only a small team of investigators in PPE, led by the district crime division chief, Deputy Superintendent Mohd Akmalrizal Radzi, entered the victim’s house, accompanied by a few health officers for inspection.

“The man used a knife to slit his neck and was sprawled in a pool of blood in his living room. The weapon used was recovered (next to) the victim’s body,” he said.

Razali said the deceased was sent to the Serdang Hospital for a postmortem, while police have classified the case as sudden death.