Police Deputy Inspector Hangs Himself after Contracting Covid-19

A police deputy inspector has hanged himself at Police General Hospital due to stress after contracting the Covid-19 coronavirus. Police spokesman Pol Maj Gen Yingyos Thepchamnong said Pol Capt Boonchu Panklin was found hanging in the hospitals bathroom.

According to hospital staff was Pol Capt Boonchu was found dead in a bathroom on the 11th floor of Chalerm Phrakiat building. Doctors said he was suffering mental health issues from his chronic illness and his Covid-19 infection.

Pol Capt Boonchu had been in contact with a previously infected case and tested positive at Mongkutwattana General Hospital before being referred to Police General Hospital.

The officer was initially asymptomatic and was treated at a field hospital on Sunday.

On Monday he developed breathing difficulty and was moved to Chalerm Phrakiat Building. He was also diagnosed with diabetes and low blood oxygen.

Pol Lt Gen Pornchai said the hospital had been unaware of the officer’s psychological problems because he had been admitted for only a few days.

Pol Col Pansa Amarapitak, chief of Pathumwan station, said the late officer also suffered from hypertension and had felt guilty for placing his mother, wife and child at risk of contracting Covid-19. The family members were in quarantine while awaiting their Covid-19 test results.

The late officer had been too embarrassed to talk with his family but had confided in a close relative, Pol Col Pansa said. He had asked his friend to take care of his family.

On Tuesday at 3pm, the officer entered a hospital toilet. When he failed to answer repeated calls to his phone an hour later, his roommate asked hospital staff to look for him. They found him dead in the toilet, hanging from a hook with a belt tied around his neck.

Since March, 498 policemen have been diagnosed with Covid-19, with 412 still at hospitals.