A man in Guangzhou city in China has committed suicide because of inflation. A man jumped to his death from the roof of an eight story building. Witness, Mr. Xiao, said that before he jumped, the man shouted, “The price is rising too quickly. I cannot bear it!”
The New Express reported that on Jan. 22 a man stood for a very long time on the roof of an eight story building in Wuyang New Town, Guangzhou city, while many people gathered and watched curiously.
A dweller of the building called the police hotline. The firemen arrived and began the rescue. While they were inflating the air bed, the man suddenly jumped and died on the spot.
A witness on the scene said that the man was about 1.6 meters in height and wore very thin clothes although the day was cold.
Since last year, consumer product prices in mainland China, such as grains, oil, and meat have skyrocketed. Rising prices have led to increased daily expenditures with a matching decline in the quality of living. This has placed much financial pressure on low-income groups.
The situation is most serious in Guangdong province. According to a report in Hong Kong’s Ming Pao News, the price of lean pork in Guangzhou City is three times higher than it was a year ago.
People have also been affected by the recent rise in the price of cooking oil, as well as the price of melon seeds and candies purchased for the coming Chinese New Year.
Although the Guangdong provincial government is pushing several policies to repress the quick inflation and has declared that consumer product prices will not rise higher that 4 percent in 2008, the price of grains, cooking oil, meat, eggs, aquatic products, vegetables, and canned natural gas continues to rise.
