THE German owner of Mickey?s Delicatessen on Jupiter Street is now being kept on life support at the Makati Medical Center after he tried to commit suicide last week by hanging himself.

According to close family friends, Michael Beck, who has been trying to shake off the bottle, has been shattered by his separation from his Filipina wife, Nadja Lapira, daughter of former broadcaster Bong Lapira and Millie Lacson.

Beck?s wife, who holds a German passport, returned to Germany earlier this month after selling her equity in the popular deli, with Beck?s consent, to Jaguar dealer Wellington Soong.

Soong now controls 75 percent of Mickey?s after acquiring the stake of another German partner. The balance is still controlled by the unconscious Beck.

Soong, out of deference to the sensitivities of his partner?s family, declined to discuss Mickey?s affairs when reached yesterday.

But he said he would keep the two-year-old deli open.

Beck, a certified master butcher, had done ?a marvelous job? of training the Filipino staff on quality control, Soong said.