PHUKET: A man who jumped to his death from the fourth floor of an apartment block in Phuket City today was suffering mental anguish caused by a court case, neighbors said.

Pongsak Pitchaphan, 41, achieved brief notoriety when two truckloads of police were needed to subdue him in an incident in the Samkong district of the island's capital back in June last year.

Back then, he waved a long staff at passersby and threatened to ''kill you all.'' Police discovered a .38 handgun in the glovebox of his car.

It was the pending court case over the weapon that led him to jump today, neighbors said.

''He just couldn't seem to find any peace,'' one neighbor said. ''There is no doubt he wasn't completely stable but the worry over the court case preyed on his mind.''

Today Khun Pongsak plunged from the fourth floor at a Kuku apartment about 9am without giving anyone the chance to talk him down. He broke his neck in the fall.

His body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital.

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Anyone feeling down or depressed on Phuket should talk to family or friends or try to seek help from a doctor.