Hong Kong police officers spent hours persuading a senior inspector not to slash his wrists in what appeared to be a suicide attempt yesterday morning.
At around 8.30am at Siu Lek Yuen Operational Base in Sha Tin, 47-year-old Paul Andrew Turner allegedly became distressed and threatened to cut his left wrist with a knife.
Apple Daily reports that after failed attempts to dissuade Turner by his colleagues, police negotiators were called and spent three hours talking him into putting the knife down.
Turner refused to go to the hospital for a further four hours, but eventually relented and initial checks revealed that, while his wrist was marked, he had not drawn any blood. The case has been classified as attempted suicide.
Sources said that Turner’s woes could have been caused by his upcoming transfer to the Kowloon East Traffic Division, where he would need to work shifts.
In 2014, the married senior inspector, who has had 20 years of experience in the police force, was accused of blackmailing his married lover into continuing their affair by threatening to send their sex tape to her husband. He was charged with criminal intimidation and suspended from duty.
While Turner was reinstated after he was acquitted, sources said he was hopeless about promotion opportunities as a result of his damaged reputation.
If you are experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts, please call the Samaritans’ 24-hour hotline at (+852) 2896-0000 for help.
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