SM Megamall Suicide: Third Suicide In Two Years At Mall As Woman Plunges From Fifth Floor

The SM Megamall had its third suicide in just over two years after a woman reportedly jumped to her death from the fifth floor of the popular shopping center in Mandaluyong City this week.

Police said the victim was in her early 20s and jumped from the balcony on the fifth floor to the basement below, suffering head and body injuries, the Journal reported. She was taken to a nearby hospital and reportedly declared dead on arrival. The report noted that the woman had been depressed and that shoppers had seen her crying as she sat in front of a wedding jewelry store on the mall’s fifth floor.

Before her suicide leap, the woman had entered the SM Megamall with her two brothers, Police Community Precint (PCP-4) commander Senior Insp. Vincent Daryl Sarona told the Journal.

The woman, who had not yet been identified, is now the third to commit suicide in the SM Megamall since early 2016. In February of that year, a 48-year-old woman named Madonna Guanzon leapt over the railing on the fifth floor and fell to her death.

At the time, SM Supermalls Vice President Steven Tan said his company was working with police to determine exactly how the suicide happened.

“A woman fell at Building B in SM Megamall. She was immediately rushed to the hospital by the mall personnel,” Tan said (via Inquirer.net). “The mall security and the local authorities are currently investigating the matter. We will cooperate for further inquiry.”

The motive for that suicide was unclear. Though some witnesses say the woman may have accidentally fallen, others said she seemed to jump for no reason. Investigators later found a goodbye message from the suicide victim to her girlfriend.

Later that year, a freshman student at Rizal Technological University also committed suicide at the SM Megamall by leaping from the fifth floor.

The rash of suicides has some experts worried that it could lead to more copycat acts. Researchers have shown that highly publicized suicides can lead to others who take their lives in the same manner (anyone who has thoughts of suicide can click here for information on suicide hotlines in the Philippines and here for the United States).

SM Megamall issues statement after incident involving female customer pic.twitter.com/S6074NiYDN

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) October 4, 2017

Authorities and mall officials said the latest suicide at the SM Megamall remains under investigation.

[Featured Image by andresr/iStock]