View Full Version : Section 309: Punish people who attempt suicide
Shark_Blade
07-06-12, 02:52
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/400494
PETALING JAYA (June 6, 2012): Section 309 of the Penal Code is an archaic law that penalises those who attempt suicide.
People who attempted suicide (sometimes called parasuicides) could be hauled to court under Section 309 of the Penal Code, and face up to one year behind bars or a fine, or both, if convicted.
But many feel this law is outdated as it punishes those who are obviously in distress.
Those who try to kill themselves are in need of proper help – not jailed or fined, say a suicide expert and civil society groups.
A recent spike in suicide rates in the country, as reported by the National Suicide Registry, proves that such a law does not stop people from committing suicide.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai last week revealed that in the last three years, more than 1,000 people had committed suicide nationwide.
“The suicide figures could be higher because these are just figures collected from post-mortems,” he was reported to have said.
The World Health Organisation estimates that globally, there are 20 attempted suicides for every successful one, meaning there could have been around 20,000 attempted suicides in Malaysia in the past three years.
“You can actually put up a crisis prevention centre but if you attach all these regulations, who will come forward at the risk of getting jailed? Are you sure that when they go to jail, they are not going to pursue their course? They might actually commit suicide in the jail,” warned suicide expert Professor Dr Muhammad Hussain Habil, director of the University of Malaya Centre for Addiction Sciences.
Though the law has been on the books for many years, rarely are parasuicides brought to court, at least until recently.
The issue came into the spotlight after Somalian student Ibrahima Oumar Viallo, 25, was sentenced to two months’ jail on May 28 by the magistrate’s court in Petaling Jaya for attempting suicide on May 11 last year – probably the first time a person has been convicted and sentenced on such a charge by a Malaysian court.
Thoughts? Do you think this is a good move to decrease suicide rate?
I could see where they're coming from, by instilling punishment it might deter the attempters from proceeding but at the same time it doesn't seem right to punish them when they're clearly not in the right state of mind.
Uzi master
07-06-12, 03:20
People aren't going to worry about going to jail if their going to kill themselves anyway, so it couldn't be a stupider law if it tried.
Shark_Blade
07-06-12, 03:46
Not all suicide attempts are succesful, hence those who failed will meet consequences in court.
They implement this to curb suicide rate, which is rising at the moment.
Uzi master
07-06-12, 04:52
Well people don't plan on failing a suicide attempt, so again they wouldn't be worried about going to jail; this only punishes those who need real help.
TRULuverzz
07-06-12, 05:11
A penalty won't solve this at all, most of the reasons I was about to explain has already been said in the article:
Are you sure that when they go to jail, they are not going to pursue their course? They might actually commit suicide in the jail
Those who try to kill themselves are in need of proper help – not jailed or fined.
The only way to tackle suicide is to send those who have attempted suicide to Psychiatric Rehabilitation which helps those who suffer from distress, depression, suicidal tendancies and other mental issues.
Incredibly stupid law. It does not help anyone get the help they need. It will only make them more eager to succeed in killing themselves.
My! That is a helpful law. People who are suicidal need help and support not punishment.
There is an argument that being allowed to kill yourself is a human right. After all, you are free to live your live as you want, which should include ending it if you ever want to.
But even apart from that, I think such laws don't help to reduce suicide rates. They only penalize people who typically need psychological help.
Yeaaaaaah, let's waste money on jails and courts and lawyer's pockets instead of... y'know, helping the people? Also, jail makes it even easier to commit suicide. Hell, in a proper one there are guys who will do it for you. So it's just one big waste of money.
And I never got this one, in countries where suicide is illegal, seriously, what are they gonna do, arrest the corpse? Or fine their family?
adventurerLara
07-06-12, 09:25
Ah humanity, you continue to elude me with your enforcement of control over understanding.
So death doesn't deter someone from suicide, but jail would? Wow, Malaysia must have a terrible prison system.
ajrich17901
07-06-12, 10:08
This is ****ing disgusting, a failed suicide attempt leads to jail instead of them getting help.. pff this world gets worse by the day.
musicmaestro10
07-06-12, 10:14
Being allowed to kill yourself is a basic human right. It is your life and you have a right to do with it what you wish. This law is stupid as is most peoples idea about suicide.
My! That is a helpful law. People who are suicidal need help and support not punishment.
Agreed 100%.
Ridiculous law.
Oh my! Whose idea was this?! It's completely stupid!
Reminds me how in Christiniaty suicide is a sin.
*Smells conspiracy!*
Not really...
Someone should inform them that suicidal people might attempt ending their lives in prison as well.
This law is really useful.
patriots88888
07-06-12, 13:16
About the only part of this I can understand is if the people wishing to kill themselves are a threat to others... such as high rise jumpers (who could end up harming others in the process) and those who go completely crazy and wish to extinguish as many lives as possible before taking their own (this usually applies to mass shootings).
Other than that, I'm at a loss as to how this law would be of any help to anyone.
So they wanted to put icing on the 'my life is worth dying over' cake.
I don't get this.
Is it supposed to deter others from attempting to commit suicide?
Suicidal people need help, not jail, and speaking from personal experience, prison does NOT help ones mental state.
That's just stupid. People who are suicidal need help not punishment.
Strange. The only time where this would be appropriate are cases involving people who are attempting suicide and put others at risk in the process. If you're doing it in private and not putting anyone else at risk then I don't see why they should be punished, as much as I disagree with suicide.
Strange. The only time where this would be appropriate are cases involving people who are attempting suicide and put others at risk in the process. If you're doing it in private and not putting anyone else at risk then I don't see why they should be punished, as much as I disagree with suicide.
I think all these cases of endangering others can (and should!) be punished under different laws already. Intentionally causing an accident, especially if it endangers others, is probably illegal almost everywhere.
I think all these cases of endangering others can (and should!) be punished under different laws already. Intentionally causing an accident, especially if it endangers others, is probably illegal almost everywhere.Good to know. In that case, this law is completely stupid.
Dennis's Mom
07-06-12, 19:25
Strange. The only time where this would be appropriate are cases involving people who are attempting suicide and put others at risk in the process. If you're doing it in private and not putting anyone else at risk then I don't see why they should be punished, as much as I disagree with suicide.
Well, there can be an effect on those around them emotionally that may cause them to want to kill themselves, particularly is the person who commits suicide has a relatively high profile.
Well, there can be an effect on those around them emotionally that may cause them to want to kill themselves, particularly is the person who commits suicide has a relatively high profile.What do you mean exactly? :confused: I know suicide has an emotional affect on other people, I was talking about people who attempt suicide and put other people's lives at risk in the process.
strawberry22
07-06-12, 20:15
That's so stupid :(
Well, there can be an effect on those around them emotionally that may cause them to want to kill themselves, particularly is the person who commits suicide has a relatively high profile.
Yes, but I think the ones responsible here are the media. There are several case studies that have shown that suicide rates go down if there are less reports about it. Conversely, in areas where it is not common to report about suicides (or at least not in detail), it has been shown that suicide rates increase if there is a particularly high-profile case that the media do report about.
Dennis's Mom
07-06-12, 20:57
What do you mean exactly? :confused: I know suicide has an emotional affect on other people, I was talking about people who attempt suicide and put other people's lives at risk in the process.
Well, after Kurt Cobain killed himself, there was concern that fans might be so despondent as to kill themselves. I remember MTV running a suicide hotline number on the screen when the news broke.
Granted, this is a high profile person with a following that some might characterize as depressed already, but there's no question that depression feeds on such behavior. It's a documented phenomenon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copycat_suicide)
I suppose I should have said earlier that I do not agree with the law. My comment was not meant to indicate its support.
The part I have a hard time with is... why should we do something about it at all? People committing suicide was once considered honorable, and in some cultures still is. However, certain western nations have vilified it... the only reason I can gather for that is a religious basis.
If someone truly wants to end their life, who are we to impose our collective will on them?
The part I have a hard time with is... why should we do something about it at all? People committing suicide was once considered honorable, and in some cultures still is. However, certain western nations have vilified it... the only reason I can gather for that is a religious basis.
If someone truly wants to end their life, who are we to impose our collective will on them?
Historically, suicide was considered unacceptable because it deprived the king or queen of a subject. That might still apply in the UK…
From a purely theoretical point of view, I agree: If someone wants to end their life, then this is their decision, not ours, and as long as they don't hurt others (physically or mentally), we should not intervene.
But at the same time, in reality, most suicides and suicide attempts are not rational decisions by healthy people who know what they are doing. They are symptoms of a mental illness. The most obvious evidence for this is that suicide rates are much higher around mental health facilities than elsewhere. The majority of suicidal people can be brought back from that again.
If they want to be brought back. Ultimately, only the individual can decide one way or the other about being suicidal.
True. But there are proven measures that can prevent suicides. For example, not reporting about suicides works very well. Similarly, preventing access to suicide hotspots has proven very effective - even if the barrier is something that people can easily circumvent. It stands to reason that there are many other techniques people can try, without impacting the people's freedom at all.
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