Attempt suicide is a crime!

Malaysia Penal Code Section 309. Attempt to commit suicide.

Whoever attempts to commit suicide, and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Today was my holiday and I spent the whole morning in HUKM looking for a psychiatry patient to clerk for my case report, only in vain.

I clerked a patient admitted for drug overdose. She swallowed 8 tablets of Mefedemic Acid/Ponstan (a type of pain killer), 6 tablets of sedative anti-histamines and 10 tablets of antibiotics. When I first heard of this case, the first thing that crossed my mind was: this isn’t suicidal. I had history of taking more drugs in a day than this 18-year-old girl. On days where I had severe menstrual pains, I could take more than 10tablets of various pain killers. And on days when I had an allergic reaction, I would take over 10 tablets of various antihistamines. You might even think that I sounded more suicidal than her.

‘Where did you get the drugs?’
‘They were my mum’s. She was sick’
‘How many tablets were there and how many did you take?’
‘I took everything in the packets!’
‘Why did you take the drugs?’
‘My father was scolding me and I was stressed. I didn’t want to hear him and wanted to sleep’
‘Have you done this before?’
‘This is my first time.’
‘What do you usually do previously, when your father scolded you?’
‘I watched television and ignored him.’
'Do you discuss the problem with anyone?'
'I like to keep it to myself'
‘Did you feel sad?’
‘I was just stressed.’
‘Did you think of dying?’
‘No, I just wanted to sleep. ’
‘Do you know the side effects of these drugs? The consequences of drug overdose?’
....Silence... (shaked her head)



Of course I was not suicidal. I knew I would not die from mild pain killers and anti-histamines, at least not at that dosage. And I knew exactly which drug could kill me, but I rather not mention here… If you perform a suicidal risk assessment for this 18-year-old girl, she had suicidal signs.

The suicidal clues were:
1. She ate all the drugs available.
2. She had a stressor
3. She had noone to turn to when she had problems

Why would I discuss this case?-you may ask. Well, simply because it was a very good example of our daily life. Very common. We get stressed up and to things without thinking. – impulsiveness - Some drugs are relatively harmless, but most drugs have severe side effects and when overdosed can harm the body and even cause death.

NO, SOMETIMES WE DO NOT WANT TO DIE. You might feel lost, depressed, feel like dying, but u do not want to die. Most suicidal persons are undecided about living or dying, and they “gamble with death”, leaving it to others to save them. Almost no one attempted suicide without letting others know how they are feeling. However, accidently they could die or hurt themselves.



Suicide is considered a crime under the Malaysian Penal Code.

Penal Code Section 309. Attempt to commit suicide.

Whoever attempts to commit suicide, and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Suicidal cases admitted to the hospital would be reported and you can be fined or imprisoned.

Moral Of the story:
1. If you attempted suicide (failed), you end up with :
- a few ribs fracture, or maybe being handicapped
- an awful stomach lavage (washed out)
- a fine or imprisonment
- a whole lifetime of regrets

2. If you committed suicide (succeeded), you end up :
-IN HELL
-repeatedly repeating the suicidal act (if you are a Muslim believer)
-your friends crying and weaping
-your family in pain
- a whole afterlife of regrets

Suicide is not the solution. Think of your family and loved ones...

Need help?
Contact the befrienders : http://www.befrienders.org.my/ (absolute confidentiality)

(Acknowledgments to Cheryl for the above picture and Fabian for the penal code.)
Disclaimer: Patient's identity is confidential