Do not criminalise suicide

AS a member of the Health Ministry’s Mental Health Advisory Council, I wish to voice my support for calls by various non-governmental organisations to repeal Section 309 of the Penal Code under which attempted suicide is a crime punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine, or both.

I fully share the view which has been expressed by several quarters that the said provision in the Penal Code is archaic and needs to be removed. The rationale for preserving this antiquated law inherited from the British is that its removal may encourage more suicide attempts. Yet to date, there are no data or case reports that indicate that decriminalisation increases suicides. In fact, suicide rates tend to decline in countries after decriminalisation.