Woman talks hubby out of leaping from balcony

KOTA KINABALU: A woman coaxed her husband into abandoning his apparent intention to jump from the third floor of a block of flats in Sabah’s east coast Sandakan district.

The woman managed to calm her 30-year-old husband who was then pulled to safety by firemen from the unit’s kitchen balcony at the flats in Jalan Leila around 7.30pm on Monday (Jan 3).

A spokesman for the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department operations centre said they received a distress call at 7.37pm and on arrival at the scene immediately went into position for a rescue operation.

“When we arrived, the man was on the kitchen verandah and his wife was coaxing him to calm down.

“At the same time, some firemen managed to enter the house and pulled him (to safety) and continued calming him down,” the spokesman said on Tuesday (Jan 4).

The man was handed over to the police who then referred him to medical authorities.

The spokesman said the man suffered minor injuries to his feet as a result of stepping on glass fragments during the three-hour operation that ended at 10.46pm.

It could not be immediately ascertained why the man was on the balcony.

Those suffering from problems can reach out to: Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935 or 014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999 or WhatsApp [phone]); Jakim’s Family, Social and Community care centre (WhatsApp [phone]); and Befrienders Kuala Lumpur (03-7627 2929 or www.befrienders.org.my/centre-in-malaysia a full list of numbers and operating hours).