SingCitizen » suicide

Suicides — sad, unnecessary

singcitizen — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:49:16 +0000

Source: http://www.littlespeck.com/content/lifestyle/CTrendsLifestyle-090314.htm

In 2007 the government reported 419 cases, or more than one suicide a day, compared with 346 in 2003.

Singaporean youths between the ages of ten and 24 who committed suicide increased by 37% in 2007 to 6.7 (from 4.9 in 2006) per 100,000, it was announced in Parliament.

Some blame it on the education system that is still geared towards high grades and rote learning. Others think it is due to parental pressure.

A third school of thought attributes it to a frail, over-protected new generation that has not experienced hardship in their young lives.

When parents take their children’s lives

singcitizen — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 02:13:40 +0000

Today, Singapore was shaken by the news of the deaths of a family of four in Tampines Street 44. A 40-year-old Chinese man was found dead at the bottom of a block of HDB flats this morning. Police later found the bodies of a 39-year-old Chinese woman, a 12-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl in a flat on one of the upper floors of the block.

It is not known yet what exactly happened to the family, but a neighbour who was interviewed on television today pointed out that the dead man was a happy-go-lucky sort of chap. Another neighbour said she saw the man screaming as he fell off the window. The television news programme also reported that several handwritten notes, in English, were found in the flat. These hinted at financial problems faced by the family.

It could be that the father took the lives of his family members before committing suicide. If that is the case, then we have every reason to rebuke the dead man for his selfishness.

Every few years in Singapore, the lives of innocent young children are sacrificed by their parent or parents in the name of protecting these children who would have otherwise grown up in the absence of these parents. Is it a noble act in the part of such parents, causing their young children to die without the chance to grow up, get married, have children, and then grow old?

These children never had a chance to decide for themselves their fate. They died by the hands of their parent or parents. It is sad when children suffer such fates through no fault of theirs. These parents, having sown the seeds for such a situation that demanded they take their own lives, had no justification to sacrifice the God-given rights of their children to a full life the moment they decided to have these children.

It is a joy to be able to wake up to a brand new day each morning. Alas, the two children will no longer be able to join thousands of young Singaporeans in going to school tomorrow.

It’s already so difficult to have children in Singapore. Those of us still mulling over the idea of having children will find no consolation in hearing today’s grim news. But, let us not allow the selfish acts of a few to mar our efforts at baby-making.

It is times like these that we bystanders get a chance to reflect and say to ourselves: Aren’t we lucky our parents are not like that?

Yes, we are certainly luckier than the two children who died today. But will Singaporeans ever learn the lesson taught by this tragedy? Unfortunately, today’s tragedy may not be the last of its kind here. In the next few years, there may be a repeat of what happened today, just as what happened today bears similarity to other incidents which have taken place here in the past.

Society also has to take responsibility when tragedies like this happen. In Singapore, face-saving is so important that when people face financial problems, they rather take their own lives than live with the shame the money problems bring them. It takes courage to be able to live through financial problems. It takes courage to accept bankruptcy in a conservative society such as ours. In the heat of the moment, it may seem easier to seek a way out through death. But, must we play God with our children?

When children commit suicide

singcitizen — Mon, 19 May 2003 14:06:16 +0000

Just when I am relishing being alive on this good earth exactly 45 years after my birth, along comes a stark reminder that this fragile thing called life may not be sweet-tasting to some others who would rather end it all at a tender age than choose to grow old.

I was jolted into silence last Tuesday when I heard on television a Primary Six boy had jumped to his death that morning. He was a pupil of Canberra Primary School in Sembawang.

It brought back memories of another suicide which happened in 2000. A 16-year-old student of Victoria School fell to his death after a quarrel at home. Apparently, he had rushed out of the flat into the corridor and plunged to his death. It was the June holidays then.

It appears the young contemplate suicide at an age when they should be enjoying the privilege of being young. I use that word – privilege – because on hindsight I now realise how much I miss those care-free times and yearn, albeit in vain, to relive that phase of my life again.

Is something wrong with the system nowadays? Are our students stressed out by the workload at school? Two days ago, some readers wrote to the Forum Page of The Straits Times. One of them, Dr Winston Lee, said of the boy, “We should take stock of the pressures he faced and find ways to help other children in the same situation.”

Dr Lee continued, “Being a child in Singapore is not much fun; today’s children do not have the opportunity to lead a full life. The pressures of coping with the overwhelming demands of an overloaded syllabus will definitely take a heavy toll on the overall development and well-being of the younger generation.”

Another reader, Dr Thomas Soo, said, “Alarm bells must ring when children die tragic deaths… Something must be very wrong with our society if we allow teenage deaths to continue in our developed society.”

One thing’s certain – more young people are contemplating suicide. According to the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), children and teens make up about 10 per cent of those who attempt suicide here. In 1999, 15 teens aged between 10 and 19 committed suicide. In 2000, there were 21. And in 2001, 28 teenage suicides were recorded.

In his book Too Young to Die- An Asian Perspective on Youth Suicide, Singapore’s first private psychiatrist Dr B. L. Chia stresses that suicide is personal and that suicide in the young results in great horror and disbelief for both the family members as well as society.

I read the Chinese daily Lian He Zao Bao’s report on the boy’s suicide. His suicide note was appended. What disturbed me most was my realisation that the boy had found peace in his decision to leave this world. He left instructions for paper offerings, among which are a large house, a car with a driver, some servants, food snacks and lots of money, to be burnt for him. Let me quote the concluding part of his last words:

“…promise me not to cry except at my funeral or else hee…hee… and be happy for it’s my last request and remember ok?”

Perhaps, the time is ripe for a review of the young suicide trends.