High time to review law criminalising suicide

THERE has been a spate of news reports on suicide attempts over the past few months, the most recent being the harrowing incident at KLCC Mall that, fortunately, ended with the rescue of the individual involved.

These incidents typically end up being the subject of extensive commentary on social media, where there is a mixture of empathy and condemnation directed towards the individuals involved. A lot of the recurring negative comments that can be seen here reveal an underlying ignorance on the nature of suicide. It is sad to note that many still subscribe to the common misconception that people attempting suicide are irresponsible attention seekers who are intentionally and wilfully causing unnecessary inconvenience to the police as well as the general public.