SHANGHAI, Jul 7 -- A MAN who was mocked for an aborted suicide attempt has gone missing in the Yellow River and it's believed that his second attempt at drowning has succeeded.

The incident happened along a stretch of the Yellow River in a park in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province on Wednesday night, the Lanzhou Morning Post said yesterday.

The man, about 20 years old, began walking toward the middle of the river at 7pm. He wanted to commit suicide, said an old lady surnamed Yang who witnessed the incident.

Yang shouted and cajoled the man who started moving back to shore, the report said.

However, as Yang tried to comfort him further, a young couple passing by called him an "idiot," saying, "He can't even afford to die."

The man, enraged at the comments, tore up several 100-yuan (US$13.15) notes, kicked his shoes to shore and strode steadily towards the middle of the river and disappeared, Yang told the newspaper.

Police said they have searched the area but couldn't find him.