TW: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
A University of South Wales (USW) student’s body has been found in Maindy Park in Cardiff by a group of fellow students, an inquest has heard.
Fakhar Zaman’s friend has described him as a “beautiful soul”, and his brother recalled the close relationship the pair had.
During the hearing, Fakhar’s brother accused mental health services of “negligence”, since he was not deemed at immediate risk despite known claims of suicide attempts from medical practitioners, Wales Online reports.
On Thursday (December 11th), Pontypridd Coroner’s Court was told that whilst the international student had communicated to services that he was experiencing suicidal thoughts, and later acted on those thoughts twice during suicide attempts, Fakhar said he would not follow through.
The international student grew up in Pakistan and worked in software engineering before moving to Cardiff for his studies, and was struggling with grief and the stress of university work in the lead-up to his death.
The 29-year-old’s body was found by a group of students just before midnight on 18th August 2024.
In 2023, 10 days after the student arrived to study an MA in Cardiff, his mother died. When Fakhar was a baby, his father also died, and that absence strengthened the bond Fakhar developed with his mother. The inquest heard how her death devastated the international student.
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Fakhar, who had no family in Cardiff and whose religion prohibits suicide, told mental health services that such religious teachings, alongside the impact his absence would have on his brother, dissuaded him from carrying through attempts to end his life.
The hearing heard how Fakhar had not been in touch with health or emergency services throughout June 2024. In May 2024, he had contacted and subsequently been seen by practitioners at the University Hospital of Wales.
David Kukiewicz, the UWS’s mental-health adviser, said Fakhar missed a face-to-face USW counselling appointment in June. In July 2024, he contacted his GP, 911 and “press 2”, which is the emergency mental-health line, as well as mental-health services.
Witnesses from USW mental health services and the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board told the inquest that, despite reporting mental health difficulties, the international student presented normally.
He experienced anxiety, sleeplessness, low moods and was suffering from panic attacks; however, according to witnesses, the MA student knew how to access help and was engaged in receiving it.
Kumar Zaman, Fakhar’s brother, attended the inquest virtually from his home in the Netherlands. Kumar questioned whether, if mental health services had offered more support and treated Fakhar’s symptoms with greater prominence, the student might still be alive.
Describing the pair’s relationship, Kumar said they were “very close” and that his brother was “always a happy person, laughing and joking with friends from primary and college.”
However, Kumar saw a visible shift in his demeanour after their mother’s death.
He told the inquest: “[Fakhar] became quiet and stopped laughing. I don’t think he got over it. He told me he was stressed working for his university course. He told me he got panic attacks and in March 2024 was stressed about exams.”
Sher Baz, a friend of the international student, said she had given him a lift home around 8:30pm on 18th August, hours before his death.
He described Fakhar as a “beautiful soul”, adding: “When I dropped him off he was smiling and there was nothing of concern.”
Kumar agreed with Sher, saying his brother appeared “happy and normal” on a phone call at 6pm the night before his death.
University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, via Google Maps
The community team nurse manager from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said they had devised a “lessons learned” report in response to questions surrounding the support Fakhar received from them.
The team discerned five areas requiring improvement, including referral delays to the NHS-run Mental Health University Liaison Service, delays in the maximum 28-day wait time for appointments, and nursing staff not being able to access 911 notes.
Coroner Andrew Morse told the inquest that Fakhar was correctly assessed by mental health services. Despite being at risk, he was accurately deemed not to be at imminent risk of self-harm or suicide by accident and emergency staff at University Hospital of Wales, the USW counselling service, his GP and the NHS emergency mental health helpline.
Identifiable issues, such as the student not being told by the “911 and press 2” operator that he could self-refer for face-to-face services, and the mental health nurse team being unable to access his 911 notes at the University Hospital of Wales, were now being addressed.
However, he noted a delay between Fakhar speaking to a clinician at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board on 17th July 2024. Though he was offered a face-to-face appointment, this was booked for 17th September 24, longer than the 28-day target for patients to be seen by the service.
The coroner said: “It was clearly identified that Mr Zaman was struggling with his mental health for reasons of bereavement, stress at university studies, lack of sleep and suicidal ideation. Mr Zaman and his brother reported all those.”
He added that Farak knew where to access support and missed appointments, and that he was “a man with capacity” who “could make his own choices.
Concluding, the coroner told the hearing there was no evidence that a lack of delay in appointments would have led to a different outcome.
Offering his condolences to Kumar and his extended family, Andrew added: “There was an opportunity for Mr Zaman to be referred earlier to the MHULS, run by the NHS, timing has been improved on that. There were opportunities where matters could have been escalated but I cannot say, on balance, that would have altered the outcome.”
If you have been affected by any of the content raised in this article, University of South Wales students can access support here.
Cardiff students can access support here.
Bangor University students can access support here.
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