TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man in Taichung City was found dead on Tuesday (May 24) after falling from his apartment in an apparent suicide after losing a large sum of money from the collapse of the crypto token Luna.
At 2 a.m. on Tuesday in Taichung's 7th Redevelopment Zone, a resident reportedly fell from his high-rise, luxury apartment tower, reported NOWnews. A security guard working on the night shift heard a loud noise, rushed out to investigate, and found a severely injured man lying on the ground.
When police arrived at the scene, it was immediately clear the man had died. A floor-by-floor inspection of the apartment building revealed the deceased was a 29-year-old tenant surnamed Wu (吳), who resided on the 13th floor.
Wu left no apparent suicide note and there was no sign of an intrusion or struggle. Officers also ruled out death from COVID as he tested negative for the virus.
After inspecting his phone, prosecutors found that Wu had recently complained to his relatives and friends that the value of the Luna tokens he had amassed had collapsed by 99% within just two days.
He wrote that this cost him a great deal of money and depressed him. According to one text message exchange, he invested US$2 million (NT$58.63 million) in Luna tokens, but after their value crashed he was left with only US$1,000.
However, police added that Wu's financial dealings and the cause of his fatal fall are still under investigation.
The blockchain handling TerraUSD stablecoin and its sister token Luna stopped handling new transactions on May 13 after the two collapsed. That month, TerraUSD, which was pegged to the U.S. dollar through a complex algorithmic relationship with Luna, plummeted to 10 cents, causing Luna to crash from an all-time high of US$119.51 to "virtually zero," reported Bloomberg.
Those considering suicide should immediately call the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center at 1925 or Taiwan Lifeline International at 1995. Foreign residents can call the Community Services Center's emergency hotline at 0932-594-578, 24 hours a day.
