Promising Taiwan starlet dies after suicide attempt

TAIPEI - A Taiwanese starlet who had a promising debut on the Blackie Chen variety show Blackie's Teenage Club died last Saturday, six days after a suicide attempt.

Yang Ko-han, whose English name appears on the Internet as Roxanne and Rabbit, died after she was found hanged on July 6 by her boyfriend, actor Chang Ting-hu, 24, in the home they shared, said reports.

The fair-skinned, beautiful actress was 27 and it was a brain stem death, reported Apple Daily.

Her agency had on July 9 said she suffered from long term depresion and pleaded for space for her to recover undisturbed in an undisclosed place.

It confirmed her death in a Taipei hospital on Saturday. In a statement, it said it had kept information about her true condition under wraps and refused interviews as her family did not want her to suffer "emotionally", hence hampering her recovery.

It said her organs were donated following her last wish, as requested in a note.

Yang was known to have sought perfection in her work and is said to have been too immersed in her lead role as a real-life former Taiwanese artiste and dance hostess in her latest serial Life Of Pearl.

She was asthmatic but tried smoking for the show, Apple Daily said. Her TV character had suicide attempts which she also emulated previous to her July 6 attempt, a co-star revealed.

She impressed with her singing skills when she debuted in 2005 on Blackie's Teenage Club.

Nominated for a best supporting actress Golden Bell award for the drama Flavor Of Life in 2013, she was said to have been disappointed because she did not win.

This article was first published on July 20, 2015.
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