Man in North Lombok Drowns Himself at Sea, Allegedly Driven by Online Gambling Debts

A man identified by the initials AH was found dead with a rope tied around his waist attached to a sack of sand on the edge of Tanjung Busur Beach, Akar-Akar Village, Bayan District, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). The 58-year-old is believed to have ended his life due to debts incurred from online gambling.

“His waist was tightly bound with a two-metre blue nylon rope, which was connected to a shrimp feed sack filled with 25 kilograms of sand,” said North Lombok Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head Iptu I Komang Wilandra on Tuesday.

The victim was first discovered by a fisherman returning from casting his nets on Monday afternoon. Initially, the witness thought he was seeing a drifting log. “When he approached, it turned out to be the body of a man in a brown jacket, already rigid,” he stated.

The discovery caused a commotion among local residents. According to Komang, the victim deliberately ended his life by tying the rope around his waist and securing it to the 25-kilogram sandbag. “The sandbag was intentionally tied to his waist, presumably as a weight to ensure his body would sink directly to the seabed,” he revealed.

The victim took his own life because of debts stemming from online gambling. “Based on the facts discovered, including the contents of the victim’s mobile phone, the preliminary conclusion indicates the victim is strongly suspected of intentionally ending his life due to economic pressure and the psychological burden caused by the grip of online gambling,” he said.

A medical examination found no signs of violence or abuse on the victim’s body. “The blood that had come from the victim’s mouth was confirmed as a symptom of barotrauma, a condition where the lungs experience extreme pressure due to the forced entry of seawater during drowning,” he stated.

The family refused an autopsy. They have made a formal written statement and have accepted the incident as a tragedy.