ADUN SPEAKS | Govt should consider halting the prosecution of attempted suicides

ADUN SPEAKS | This week, yet another attempted suicide survivor was prosecuted and sentenced by the court. For trying to commit suicide, the unemployed 28-year-old man was fined RM3,000 by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court under Section 309 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum jail term of one year or a fine or both.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurilya Ellyna Nor Azmal asked the court to impose an appropriate sentence “as a lesson because the man had inconvenienced many parties”.

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent phases of the movement control order (MCO) have taken a toll on Malaysians’ mental health. Job losses, pay cuts, the isolating effect of social distancing, uncertainty over the pandemic and constantly changing standard operating procedure (SOPs) are some identified major stressors.

As early as March 28 this year, a patient under observation for Covid-19 at the Serdang Hospital committed suicide.

In April, a 20-year-old man in Sibu attempted suicide over fears of being unable to return home to Kapit, having run out of money. He was also investigated under Section 309...