A Singaporean man who was working as an English teacher in Taiwan took his own life after thinking that the school was planning to sack him, due to complaints from the parents at how he handled his students.

The incident happened on December 8, 2018, at Gushan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The 44-year-old Singaporean man, known only as Guo, was identified as an English teacher working at a primary school near the vicinity. He and his Taiwanese wife of several years had left Singapore and moved to Taiwan just a few months ago.

Original reports of the story indicated that the school had sacked him from his position after parents had expressed discontent at the way he had handled his students and his classes. The school has since clarified the matter – Guo had not been dismissed from teaching, even though it was true that students’ parents had complained about him.

On December 8, 2018, early on in the night, Yahoo Taiwan reported that Guo had spoken to his wife about the situation at school, saying that the school was planning to sack him from his teaching position.

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Guo’s wife said that his suicide came as a shock to her since it seemed that Guo had  calmed down considerably after his wife had talked with him and comforted him.

Chinatimes reported that later on that night, at around 12:33AM, Guo flung himself off the 15th floor of the building. According to See Hua Daily News, Guo had jumped off the very same building where he and his wife were living.

Guo crashed through a white car and was found trapped between the dented roof and the driver’s seat.

While the fall did not kill him on the spot, he would later on die from severe injuries that turned fatal.

Yahoo Taiwan reported that Guo’s injuries included multiple fractures and blood all over his body. His heart had also stopped beating.

Although he was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, he later on died at around 3:00AM.

Apparently, Guo had left behind a suicide note of sorts, as earlier reported byYahoo Taiwan. The last message he sent to his wife read “I will love you forever” (roughly translated into English).

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Upon finding out about his suicide, Guo’s wife was distraught and immediately burst into tears.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, don’t hesitate to call for help. There are people who are there to listen and provide emotional support and emergency help, whenever it is needed.
To learn more about the risk factors and warning signs of suicide, check this Samaritans of Singapore information page.

Here are some suicide helplines:

Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222