Life worth living with beer and cigarettes

POLICE negotiators yesterday used a can of beer and cigarettes to dissuade a waiter from jumping off a Western District building.

The 27-year-old man wanted to kill himself over a broken romance and dispute with his boss.

He was seen standing on the ledge of a six-storey building in Water Street at about 12.15 pm.

A large crowd gathered, forcing police to cordon off a section of the street so firemen, who arrived at the scene 20 minutes later, could inflate an air cushion.

During the 90-minute drama, the man told police negotiators he was in a bad mood because his girlfriend had told him he was lazy and that she did not like him. He said he was also annoyed that his boss had delayed paying him last month's salary.

He asked police for help to calm down and then asked for a can of beer and some cigarettes.

After a 75-minute talk, the man was finally persuaded to come down.