A man posted on Facebook offering to give away his belongings to anyone who would "kill him". Image / Facebook
A man posted on Facebook offering to give away his belongings to anyone who would "kill him". Image / Facebook
A Gold Coast man who posted an online advertisement for someone to kill him in exchange for everything he owns has received an overwhelming response from social media users who rallied together to save him.
The man, who news.com.au has chosen not identify, put the hit out on his own life via a Facebook page called 'Gold Coast buy, sell and swap with easy rules', about 5pm yesterday.
"I will pay someone with everything I own for one favour ... anyone interested?" he wrote.
He went on to list his valuables which included a "$300 + TV Xbox One, 360, PlayStation 2, about 100 games, 60 DVDs (and) 2 laptops".
"All that if one person grants my request," he wrote.
The original post from the man offered up everything he owned if they would 'grant my request'. Image / Facebook
Hundreds of Facebook users immediately responded to the alarming message but they weren't vying for the job. Those who were able to ascertain where the man lived — including one man 1800kms away — jumped in their cars and rushed to his aid while others contacted emergency services. But it was the dozens of messages of hope and support that ultimately "overwhelmed" him most.
"What good are your belongings when you're in jail charged with murder? I'd rather get you some help," Facebook user Daisy Chain wrote.
"Message me anytime you want to vent," Karen Holmes wrote.
"There's plenty out there to live for," Nick Lucas posted.
The man responded: "I've tried ... but I'm over it ... I want to be at peace".
"I've been in this same spot for 5 years ... I want the suffering to end ... I want to go to the next world," he continued.
One of the many kind responses urging the man to talk to someone who could help him. Image / Facebook
"A life in this world is worth nothing to me ... it is a curse."
A few members of the group provided their personal phone numbers and suicide support contacts while others brainstormed ways to help or kept the man talking.
"How can we help this bloke?" John Sullivan wrote.
"Where are you at the moment?" another Facebook user asked.
"Please call someone or allow someone to read you. I lost someone to suicide and it doesn't stop your pain. Those around you will live the pain you talk of."
The man was inundated with messages from supporters who told him to "just keep going".
A QLD Ambulance spokesperson confirmed paramedics attended a residence in Burleigh Waters in relation to the incident just after 5pm yesterday. He could not comment further for privacy reasons.
A QLD Police spokesman told news.com.au "police were called to an incident in relation to a person possibly intending self-harm and that a person received medical attention".
"We would not go into any more detail due to the nature of the incident," he said.
A woman who said she was the man's mother wrote a public message to the Facebook group that helped her son.
"I want to apologise," she said. "I know this has upset people and possibly triggered others.
She said her son was "really taken aback by everyone's kind words and encouragement".
"One guy even drove down from Yatala (about 1800km north west of where the man lived) ... we are in Burleigh," she wrote.
"Anyway, QPS & QAS have been, and he has voluntarily gone with them to Robina hospital. "(He) is diagnosed (with a condition) and medicated with a big team behind him. Please I would like your members to know how grateful I am to them and that he is OK and being looked after."
Facebook user Margaret Thomson summed up what a lot of those involved said they were also feeling: "Makes me have faith in humanity," she wrote.
