I never thought that I would experience this on 13th April 2004, circa 1:30 pm. That is to see a man fall/jump from a tall building just opposite the office block from where I am working.

I just finished my lunch of nasi lemak and chicken and was about to get back to some work, reading through a book when I heard a long shout/scream coming from just outside (his scream must be really loud for me to hear from inside the building). Next thing I knew, there was a thud on the ground and as I peeped out of the window, there it was, the body of an elderly man (this was established later) lying flat out on the ground. From my position on the 6th floor, I was not able to see his face or establish his race. I was shocked and it took a few seconds before I realised that I have just witness death firsthand caused by unnatural circumstances.

Calling a colleague who is working on the same floor, we looked out together and saw a window slightly ajar from a floor higher up than ours, though we are not certain that he might had come from there. We saw a shoe that had fallen off from his feet lying neatly on someone's carpark. His car is parked nearby.

Soon, crowds were miling around the body. The police were alerted, though it was a good 15-20 minutes before they came. In the meantime, some people had covered the body with some newspapers. As I went down to have a closer look, I saw his family members crying and sobbing around the body. Another lady came together with a car that rushed to the scene, and I assume that it must had been the other daughter (but turns out that it is the wife), as she hugged a young lady who called the dead man "ah pa".

As curious as I was, I thought it prudent and respectful not to try to find out too much now as the family members would still be in shock. I am most interested to see what news would be out by The Star tomorrow, seeing that this happened just right on their doorstep.

Now that the body is finally removed, about more than an hour since it hurtled to the ground, one can see the spot still stained with blood that had gushed out from the impact of the ground on his body. Crying could still be heard outside.

Death is an everyday occurance, but this is the first time I actually witness the event first hand, the scream and the loud thud that follows. Unfortunately, I did not see where he fell from.

Perhaps if he had just fallen, it might not had been much. But even now, I could still hear the scream ringing in my ears...

My heart goes out to his family...