Swede blast self with grenade

A retired Swedish seaman apparently took his own life by exploding a grenade on himself in a vacant lot beside their house in Las Piñas City last Tuesday, the police said.

Senior Police Officer 3 Willy Dalawangbayan identified the alleged suicide as Rolf Helmer Miklund, 56, resident of 6 Sampaguita street, Santonio Village, Talon 4, in this city.

The grenade blast took place at around 3:20 p.m. at a grassy vacant lot beside the house Miklund was renting from the family of retired General Emiliano Sia.

Before the incident, Miklund had reportedly drank some six bottles of beer alone in their house, said his Filipina wife Milagros to police investigators.

Milagros said that before walking out of their house, Miklund even handed her two pieces of paper which later turned out to be suicide notes; one addressed to her and the other to his mother in Sweden.

Milagros said she thought the papers were ordinary letters and she had ignored them at first as she was then busy watching television.

In his notes, Miklund reportedly expressed his frustration and bitterness over his inability to find work to be able support his family.

Miklund and his wife had been married for 32 years. – Rainier Allan Ronda