BANGKOK,
Aug 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Thai woman was killed
Sunday, August 11, when she flung herself into a pit of crocodiles at
a Bangkok farm in front of dozens of horrified tourists after a
quarrel with her husband, according to reports.
Somjai
Setboon, 40, suffered fatal bite wounds from several of the reptiles
before employees at the Samut Prakarn crocodile farm intervened to try
and save the woman from her apparent suicide, according to Thai
broadcaster ITV.
She
scaled a high fence and jumped into the concrete enclosure at the
Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm on the outskirts of the capital, Bangkok.
Several
crocodiles lunged at Somjai and repeatedly bit her before officials
finally beat the reptiles away with wooden sticks, Lek said.
"She
did not cry or scream when she was bitten," said a tour guide.
"It happened so quickly. Nobody could do anything."
This
was unavoidable, farm chairman Charoon Yongpratakorn said of the
noontime incident, adding that he asked officials for more security at
the crocodile farm, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
The
facility in suburban Bangkok is Thailands largest crocodile farm and
hosts thousands of visitors each year.
The
ITV report quoted the victims husband Samut, who said he had been
quarreling with Somjai recently over his mistress.
He
also said his wife had been stressed about her health and marital
status.
Police
said the woman left a suicide note in which she complained about her
husband and apologized to members of her family, BBC online service
reported.
The
woman, identified in media reports as Somjai Setabul, was seized by
one crocodile and then swarmed by more than 100 others, witnesses
said.
Workers
at the park were only able to look on helplessly as she was torn
apart. They were finally able to retrieve her body about 20 minutes
later, BBC said.
Park
guide Thanes Wiriyaporn said the incident took place around feeding
time, when the tourists were purchasing buckets of chicken parts to
give to the crocodiles.
"Just
right in front of me, she just jumped into the pond without a word.
The moment the crocodile grabbed her body, she even hugged onto
him," he said.
 |
|
She was seized by one crocodile and then swarmed by more than 100 others |
According
to BBC, The last suicide happened 10 years ago, but every year there
have been several attempts, which park officials have been able to
prevent, he added.
"But
this woman showed no sign of depression or absentmindedness like the
others did, so nobody noticed her at all."
The
Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm, just south of the capital, is a popular
tourist attraction and claims to be the biggest such park in the
world, housing 60,000 crocodiles.
Committing
suicide is forbidden by all religions as all lives belong to God and
no human being has the right to end it.
In
Islam, it’s abhorrent for a person to take his own life
intentionally. This is very clear in all that renowned Muslim scholars
have said and written. The Qur’an also has made itself clear on
this.
Allah
says: O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in
vanities: But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual
good-will: Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily God hath been
to you Most Merciful! (Surah 4 Verse 29).
Also,
the Prophet (pbuh) has made it clear that, whoever kills himself
intentionally, with whatever means, will be made to repeat the act in
the Hereafter, using the same weapon! In other words, he/she will be
subject to repetition of pain and torture.
The
Prophet says: ‘Whoever commits suicide with a piece of iron will be
punished with the same piece of iron in Hell. Whoever commits suicide
by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in Hell [forever], and
whoever commits suicide by stabbing shall keep on stabbing himself in
Hell [forever].’
So,
Islam’s stand on this is very clear. There’s nothing that
justifies killing taking one’s own life save the case of martyrdom,
and there’s a big gap between this and killing oneself out of
despair or depression.
Confirming
this, Dr. Ahmad Yusuf Sulaiman, a professor at the Faculty of
Darul-`Uloom, states: “A Muslim should never lose his trust in
Almighty Allah or make life travails overcome him. In his life, the
motto of a Muslim should be: “No fear, no despair, for Allah is
always near.”.
