The Bhutanese Leading the way.
According to the records maintained by the Forensic Unit, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH), the common age bracket of the victims of suicide in Thimphu fall in the adolescent years. The youngest victim was 13 years old. More males than females are victims of suicide in Thimphu. In 2013, the Forensic Unit recorded a total of eight suicide cases in Thimphu, three cases in 2012 and 9 suicide cases in 2011. The record for 2014 is under the process. There were 56 reported cases of suicide, resulting in the death of 40 males and 16 females, from 2005 to 2013.
According to the records maintained by JDWNRH, the highest number of suicide cases was reported in 2010 and the lowest number of suicide cases was reported in 2006 in Thimphu.
An official at the Forensic Unit, JDWNRH said the forensic team is informed by the Police to go to the suicide scene. “We go together with the police at the scene, but in some cases, victims are already dead but parents or relatives have doubt that the victim is not dead so the victim is referred to hospital.
“Therefore, the victim is taken to emergency room for examination and we attend to it,” said the official. The official said that the most common factor leading to a person committing suicide are stress and also quarrels in the family.
The Forensic Unit carries out death scene investigation to determine the cause of death. The official said it is harder to investigate the cause of death when the victims are found outdoors, in places like forests.
