'Suicide' epidemic has city reeling

GUANGZHOU: Police in Guangdong's provincial capital have dealt with 15 cases of people threatening to kill themselves by jumping off the city's Haizhu Bridge so far this year.

Eight of those potential jumpers ended up being detained by police for up to 15 days each, according to sources with Guangzhou municipal bureau of public security yesterday.

Haizhu Bridge, which crosses the Pearl River linking the city's Yuexiu and Haizhu districts in the downtown area, is described as a macabre "tourist attraction" after appealing to so many suicidal people.