David Widjaja’s senior Zhou Zheng hanged himself; he was seen praying and burning incense papers after Widjaja’s suicide

Translated from Lianhe Wanbao

5 days after NTU student David Widjaja plunged to his death after allegedly stabbing his professor, his senior from the same Division of Electrical and Electronic Engineering was found hanging in the balcony in his apartment at Block 101C Nanyang Heights, where staff and graduate students reside.

Zhou, from Hubei, China, graduated with a Second Class Upper Honours from the NTU’s Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department in July last year.

He started work with a company right after graduation but was laid off two months later.

After looking for a job for several months, he joined NTU as an infocomm project officer at the university’s School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering on March 2.

The police was alerted last night at 10.42pm by a flatmate who found the deceased hanging in the balcony motionless. He was pronounced dead on arrival by the paramedics. The police has classified the case as an unnatural cause of death.

Before deceased hanged himself, he was often seen burning incense papers at the entrance of his apartment. A foreign couple said they had some impression of the deceased though they do not know him in person.

“The resident of that unit always leave the door open. We often saw him burning incense papers and praying at the entrance.”

Zhou Zheng lived together with a flatmate who is also from China. The flatmate who called the police found the deceased hanging in the balcony at level 4 and was scared stiff on the spot. He quickly carried the deceased down, but felt his body was already cold and without breath.

The deceased hanged himself using a black colored plastic bag. The police found a letter at the scene. The deceased’s family had been informed and they will fly from China to arrange for his funeral.

In a statement released Saturday, NTU said professional counsellors and senior university officers were activated on site to offer support.

EDITORS’ NOTE:

This is another interpretation of the second suicide which is going around in the neighborhood kopitiams. Zhou Zheng may have “seen” the “spirit” of Widjaja hanging around in the laboratory where he worked and was traumatized. That’s why he was seen praying, burning incense papers and leaving the door of his unit open. He may have committed suicide because he was unable to stand the sight of the apparition. According to Chinese folklore, human beings who died violently, prematurely or unjustly often linger around at the place where they spent their last days. They have to be “chao1 du4″ by a Taoist priest within 49 days to soothe their grievances so that they can be reborn into a better realm of existence.

BREAKING: David Widjaja & second suicide victim Zhou Zheng were from the same lab!!!

By Eugene Yeo and Shawn Tay

They say lightning doesn’t hit twice on the same spot. In less than a week after the unfortunate suicide of Mr David Widjaja, NTU staff and students are put through the same traumatic experience again.

24-year-old Zhou Zheng, a Chinese national, was an Infocomm Project Officer at the university’s School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

He was found hanging in the balcony in his apartment at Block 101C Nanyang Heights, where staff and graduate students reside.

Two suicides occur one after another within a week at the same campus. Is this a mere coincidence or a joke played by heavens?

It appears that the lightning did strike on the same spot after all. Both David Widjaja and Zhou Zheng were from the Division of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and what’s more, Zhou Zheng worked in the same lab, S2-B3a-06.

These were the project details of David Widjaja under Professor Chan Kup Luk which had been taken down already from the NTU website:

Click here to see bigger image.

Though David’s name was not printed, the project described was his FYP according to his friends and newspaper reports.

Mr Zhou Zheng, a staff of NTU, worked as a Infocomm Project Officer at the SAME LAB as David Widjaja:

 

 

 

Click here to see bigger image.

An Info Comm Project Officer is involved in research work. According to latest reprots from Lianhe Wanbao, Zhou Zheng is one year the senior of Widjaja.

Zhou Zheng might have known Widjaja in person and it is not inconceivable that his suicide has something to do with Widjaja.

Zhou Zheng may have severe post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD from the untimely death of Widjaja, the closer the relationship he has with the deceased, the bigger the blow.

According to this landmark study on PTSD in the United States which was published in the March issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry this year (read article here), PTSD leads to increased suicide risk in young adults especially in the early weeks.

In my opinion, NTU should suspend classes at the Division of EEE for a week and organized counselling sessions for all students and staff by psychiatrists and trained psychologists.

Do not underestimate the psychological impact on these two suicide cases on the students and staff. Under a pressure cooker school environment, this additional stress will be sufficient to tip some over.

PTSD patients often have recurring vivid nightmares of the traumatic event or in this instance, the images of the deceased when he is still alive. Though most will resolve within half a year with appropriate counselling, 10% of the patients may go on to develop chronic depression and anxiety disorders if the symptoms persist for half a year or more.

NTU should place the welfare of its students and staff above mundane administrative and academic concerns. No amount of degrees, honors and bonuses will suffice to bring back the two lives lost. Even if the temporary disruption of classes may delay the school term by a few weeks, NTU has a moral responsibility to ensure that such tragedies do not happen again.

NOTE: A NTU student, Gabriel has a different perspective of what happened here

Video: NTU officer found hanged and Prof Su Guanning’s email to NTU staff and students

A NANYANG Technological University infocomm project officer was found hanged in a staff apartment at the NTU campus on Friday night.

Mr Zhou Zheng, 24, a Chinese national from the Division of Information at the School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) was pronounced dead in his flat at Block 101C Nanyang Heights at about 10.50 pm.

His body, which was found hanging in the balcony of his apartment, was believed to have been taken down by a friend before police arrived.

Confirming the death, which comes less than a week after a final year student, also from the School of EEE, fell to his death after stabbing a professor on Monday morning, NTU said the university is providing every assistance to Mr Zhou’s family.

‘Professional counsellors and senior university officers were immediately on site to offer support, help and counsel where needed,” said an NTU statement on Saturday.

Separately, NTU President, Dr Su Guaning sent an email to all faculty staff and students on Saturday morning informing them that the university is ‘deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Mr Zhou’ and that his family has been notified. It is not known if the family members are in Singapore.

‘We are doing our utmost to help his family and friends, residents at Nanyang Heights and anyone in the NTU community that may be traumatised by what has happened in our campus this week,’ said Dr Su.

‘We shall rally together and pull through this difficult period.’

On Monday, David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, an Indonesian student whose scholarship was terminated, stabbed Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, in the back during a discussion in his office at the NTU campus, then slit his own wrists before fleeing and falling four floors to his death shortly after.

Prof Chan, who suffered injuries to his back and right hand, has been discharged from hospital and is on medical leave.

Source: Straits Times

 

Professor Su Guanning’s statement to NTU staff and students (thanks Janet for the email!)

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that one of our colleagues, Mr Zhou Zheng, an infocomm project officer was found to have passed away in an apartment at Nanyang Heights at about 10.50pm on Friday, 6 March 2009. The Dean of Students, the university counselling professionals and other senior university officers were on site immediately to offer support and counsel.

The university is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our staff. Mr Zhou’s family has been notified. We are doing our utmost to help his family and friends, residents at Nanyang Heights and anyone in the NTU community that may be traumatised by what has happened in our campus this week.

The university board of trustees, management and the NTU community, send our heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Mr Zhou. We will extend every assistance to the family to help ease their pain.

We shall rally together and pull through this difficult period.

DR SU GUANING
PRESIDENT

EDITORS’ NOTE: Dr Su, you must have made a mistake. Mr Zhou Zheng did not “pass away” of natural causes. He committed suicide by hanging himself. Both Zhou Zheng and David Widjaja are from the Division of Triple E. What is happening? Lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place, let alone in less than a week!!