Traffic police in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday managed to bar a man from committing suicide over what he claimed to be his ex-wife’s remarriage.

Officers were checking drivers’ breath alcohol content at a checkpoint at the intersection of Tan Thuan 2 Bridge and Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard in District 7 at 11:00 pm on Saturday when a seemingly drunk man approached them on a motorbike, wearing no crash helmet and asking “why didn’t you arrest me?”

A test showed that his breath alcohol content far exceeded the limit.

The man identified himself as L., coming from the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.

He said he is working in Dong Nai Province, which borders Ho Chi Minh City to the east.

L. was not carrying any personal papers with him so the traffic police officers decided to keep his motorbike.

“I want to leave the vehicle to you,” L. said.

“I’m so sad as my ex-wife has remarried.

“I have drunk alcohol for three days but I’ve never felt drunk.

“I’ll absolutely go kill myself tonight.”

The two have just divorced and their child is living with his ex-wife in Ho Chi Minh City, the man said.

Hearing of her remarriage, L. rode his motorbike from Dong Nai to the city to look for his child but in vain.

The ex-wife had moved to another rented house and cut off all contact with him.

The traffic police officers repeatedly asked him for his family’s phone numbers to contact them but L. turned them down, insisting on “death, needless to hold me back.”

The officers contacted local police who quickly showed up and convinced L. to come to their office for a rest, putting a stop to his determination to take his own life.

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