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Jakarta Post

Australian threatens suicide at Bali airport

Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post)
Bali
Tue, July 18, 2017

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Australian threatens suicide at Bali airport Australian citizen Gregory Lee Butler (center) guarded by security officers of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali after he threatened to commit suicide at the airport on Tuesday. (JP/Ni Komang Erviani)

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n Australian man has threatened to commit suicide by jumping from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport’s third floor in Bali on Tuesday, after causing a flight cancellation the day before.

The man, identified as Gregory Lee Butler, 46, shocked onlookers as he stood at the edge of the third floor and shouted “corrupt” and “rude” many times.

Read also: Australian citizen denied entry to Bali due to criminal record

For more than one hour, until 6.18 p.m., a negotiation was conducted by the police and airport aviation security. He was finally saved after an Austrian man became involved in the negotiation. 

Arie Ahsanurrohin, the communications and legal head of state airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, said that Butler allegedly had psychological problems and anti-depressant medicine was found in his bag. 

Read also: British-Australian couple get 6, 4 years for Bali policeman's murder

He had also caused a cancellation of an Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur on Monday. "He was one of the passengers on Air Asia flight AK 379. When the flight was going to take off, he suddenly knocked on the cockpit door, saying that someone wanted to kill him. For safety reasons, the pilot decided to return to the apron," Arie said. 

All passengers stayed the night in Kuta, before flying to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday morning. Butler was left at the airport for investigation. "After the investigation had concluded, he suddenly threatened [to commit suicide]," Arie said.

The airport security decided to send him to Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar. 

Butler would not be charged because he had not committed a crime, Arie added. 

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