Dubai: Four suicide cases have been reported in less than 24 hours in Irbid, a city north of the Jordanian capital, Amman, local media reported.
In the first case, a person set himself on fire at dawn in one of the busy streets of Irbid, and hours later, a university student studying medicine hanged himself at his family home in the west of Irbid.
A young Syrian citizen, meanwhile, hanged himself at his workplace in the north of the city.
Later in the day, a pregnant woman drank a toxic substance in front of the Sharia courts following a family dispute. She was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Over the past year, Jordan recorded a spike in suicide cases with one person ending life every two days, the highest in 10 years. According to official statistics, 169 suicide cases were reported last year, an increase of 45.7 per cent over the previous year, while 142 people committed suicide in 2018, an increase of 9.2 per cent compared to 2017.
According to the 2018 report, 100 suicide cases were registered in 2014, 113 in 2015, 120 in 2016, 130 in 2017 and 142 in 2018. Women account for around 30 per cent of suicide cases in the kingdom.
