Monk attempts suicide at Shwedagon Pagoda: AP

Mizzima News
Wednesday, 17 September 2008 22:02

New Delhi - A Buddhist monk on Tuesday attempted suicide at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma's former capital out of desperation over financial hardship.

The monk, thought to be in his fifties, was immediately rushed to the Rangoon General Hospital after he had slashed his throat on Tuesday afternoon, according a report by the Associated Press (AP).



"The monk later said he tried to kill himself because he was desperate. He said he came to Yangon [Rangoon] for treatment and ran out of money," the AP quoted a member of the Shwedagon Pagoda trustees as saying.

The trustee said the monk was in a stable condition, the report added.

However, with Rangoon General Hospital staffs refusing to talk, the information could not be independently verified by Mizzima.

The suicide attempt by the monk is the second suicide bid at the pagoda this year. Earlier in March, Kyaw Zin Naing, a 26-year-old man, set himself ablaze at the shrine, after shouting anti-government slogans.

Kyaw Zin Naing later died of burn injuries after he was taken to the hospital.