Killer ulcers

Distraught over his ulcers, a 68-year-old man jumped to his death from the 6th floor of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) before dawn yesterday.

Investigators identified the fatality as Armando Sedilla, married, jobless and a resident of San Francisco, Bulacan. He suffered fractured bones and died while undergoing treatment at the PGH.

Police said that the suicide took place at around 3 p.m. yesterday, almost a week after the victim was confined at the PGH Room 648 for his ulcers.

Sedilla’s relatives told probers that there were times that Sedilla would be crying because of the pain and wishing himself dead. The pain worsened because he refused to take his medicine.

Prior the suicide, hospital personnel were supposed to bring Sedilla to the laboratory for a test but the patient ignored them and instead went to the room on the sixth floor. Hospital personnel left the room to report Sedilla’s actions to their superior.

It was at that juncture that hospital personnel and patients heard a loud thud at the 4th floor of RCB Garden, prompting them to investigate. They found the victim’s bloodied body sprawled on the pavement and gasping for air. – Cecille Suerte Felipe, Pete Laude