Tyrel Martin Marhanka, an American living abroad, killed himself inside a courtroom in Taiwan on Thursday after receiving a four-year sentence over drug possession.
The 41-year-old English teacher, husband, and father of two slashed his neck with a scissor blade he smuggled into the courtroom,
The Associated Press reported.
Marhanka had lived in Taiwan for more than 15 years and was indicted for growing opium and marijuana, which he said was for his personal consumption.
After slashing himself, Marhanka was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.
His sentence was reduced from the possible seven-year sentence because he didn't sell the drugs and only used them himself,
The New York Times reported.
After hearing his sentence, Marhanka reportedly said "I don't want to live anymore," before taking out the disassembled scissor blades that he had concealed in a magazine and cutting his neck.
The court expressed "deep regret" and said it would install X-ray machines in a new building to increase security.
Marhanka "was co-operative during the investigation and the trial," the court said in a statement,
according to SkyNews.
"His attitude was mild and he did not show any signs that he would commit suicide."
Neighbors said Marhanka lost his job after his indictment,
The China Post reported.
Marhanka left behind a Taiwanese wife, who is a dancer, and two children — a son in second grade and a daughter in kindergarten,
The Daily Mail reported.
Many Twitter users were very upset by the shocking death.
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