The third JPMorgan employee in the past three weeks has committed suicide under unusual circumstances. This time the victim, a still unidentified JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) employee, jumped from the roof of the bank’s Hong Kong Asian headquarters.
Work stress initially cited
The Hong Kong suicide at Chater House (above photo. Source: South China Morning Post) occurred in the center of the city as people were unable to talk the 33-year-old man down. According to the South China Morning Post, the man worked in the investment banking business and an initial police investigation revealed he told a colleague he was under heavy work-related stress. A Bloomberg report says the man was a junior employee in a supporting function who didn’t work as a trader or investment banker.
“Out of respect for those involved, we cannot yet comment further,” a JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) spokesperson was quoted as saying. “Our thoughts and sympathy are with the family that’s involved at this difficult time.”
The South China Morning Post reports a shocked witness said the 33-year-old, believed to be a junior-level employee at the bank, climbed onto the roof shortly after lunchtime. Police said the man was found in a dangerous position on the roof of Chater House on Connaught Road Central at about 2 pm. He threw himself off the building before emergency crews arrived, landing on the four-lane westbound road outside the building. A police spokeswoman said the man was taken to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, where he was declared dead at 2.31 pm local time.
Three unusual deaths at JPMorgan
It is unclear if the suicide is connected with the January 28 suicide of Gabriel Magee, a bank vice president in the technology department out of London, or if the death is connected to the February 12 suicide of Ryan Crane, the former executive director of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s Executive Trading division. Crane, the 37 year old father of one son, managed a division that was said to have never had a losing year at the bank.
