Police in Dowa are keeping in custody a 65-year-old man for allegedly attempting to commit suicide over lack of care from his relatives.
The suspect, Richard Kalinda, committed the offence on Monday afternoon, November 23, 2020 at Kalindang’oma Village.
It is reported that on the particular afternoon, the suspect’s son, Mateyu Kalinda, saw his father’s house in flames and when he rushed to see what actually happened, he met the suspect (his father) who was drunk claiming that he had torched his house and that he wanted to commit suicide since he is not being taken care of at the village.
The son wrestled with the suspect so that he should not commit suicide but when he saw that he could not manage to get hold of the suspect, he went to call other relatives.
Then the suspect took advantage and went ahead to tie a rope to a tree so that he could hang himself.
When the suspect was nearly to jump into the loop, he was rescued by his relatives and he was taken to police for assistance.
The suspect has since been arrested pending further investigations and he will appear before court soon to answer a charge of attempt suicide.
The suspect comes from Kalindang’oma Village in the area of Traditional Authority Msakambewa in Dowa District.
