Depressed, penniless Swede hangs self in Bukidnon

MANILA, Philippines — Depression drove a Swedish national to hang himself in the compound of a Filipino woman’s house in Maramag town in Bukidnon province, an online news site reported Saturday. Mindanao Daily Mirror (www.dailymirror.ph) cited belated police reports that Michael Eugene Humberg, 45, hanged himself from a tree at the house of James Hura at 4:45 a.m. Monday. Police investigator SPO4 Lencio Galindez said Humberg arrived with a Filipina friend on May 25. He described the woman as married to another Swedish national. Galindez said he learned that Humberg had been depressed since his parents died last year, and that he turned to alcohol to drown his depression. Because of this, he said Humberg began to neglect his business and eventually almost became bankrupt. Investigation also showed an administrator was designated for all of Humberg’s properties and businesses in Sweden. Humberg was only given an allowance for his needs. Also, Galindez said Humberg asked for 85,000 Swedish crowns (more than P500,000) from his administrator when he decided to have a vacation in the Philippines with his Filipina friend. When they reached Davao City, the Swedish national tried to contact his administrator to ask for more money since he was planning to go to Palawan but could not contact administrator. Galindez said Humberg soon ran out of money and felt ashamed because he had become a burden to his friend. Last May 31, Humberg told his friend he would go out to the lawn to get some fresh air. He never came back inside the house and was found dead the next day. Galindez said they requested a postmortem investigation on Humberg’s body but the findings of the medico-legal showed that the Swedish national committed suicide. Galindez said they already informed the Swedish Embassy about the incident. - GMANews.TV