The Bay of Plenty Coroner is calling for the issues around the reporting of suicide to be urgently addressed. Dr Wallace Bain says coroners, the media and the communities of New Zealand need clearer direction.
Dr Bain is concerned about a recent editorial in the Medical Journal which greatly criticises the calls for more openness, saying it can lead to copy-cat suicides. He wants the Government to urgently evaluate the recent change to media guidelines and its impacts, however in the past few days Dr Bain has been widely reported commenting on the death of respected lawyer Greg King and has issued warnings to the media about reporting Mr King’s death.
A police spokesman would not comment on a post-mortem examination after the written warning to media about the conditions which apply to reporting deaths referred to the coroner. The position taken by the coroners office contrasts with reports about a recent death in Christchurch where huffing – sniffing gas from cylinders – is believed to have contributed to the death of a 27-year-old Dunedin man at the weekend.
Police could not confirm whether the man had died from huffing, but Acting Senior Sergeant Dave Scott says “evidence at the scene suggested that huffing was a component”.
The Otago Daily Times then reported that “It is believed he died after inhaling gas from several cylinders which were found near his body in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens on Sunday morning.”
Police have not named the man but say he recently moved to the Dunedin area and had links to the North Island. His death has been referred to the coroner.
In Greg King’s case, Police say they’re not treating the death as suspicious, but it has been referred to the coroner, who has placed restrictions on how it is reported.
There has been no reference to any evidence at the scene although several sources have now revealed that a firearm was found near Mr King’s body.
Source: New Zealand Justice Forum
Here’s yet another example of the Kiwi courts conspiring to conceal the truth from New Zealand’s gutless media:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/7917558/Students-supported-over-uni-death