Last September, AWARE called for the law criminalising suicide to be reformed – urging that it should no longer be an offence.  We also made recommendations to improve first response so that persons attempting suicide – who are already in distress – are not further traumatised by experiences of arrest.

This issue has gained attention in Parliament recently, with Senior Minister of State Mr Desmond Lee announcing in November last year that the Government is prepared to review suicide laws. Earlier in February, NMP Kok Heng Leun suggested that MSF consider having a specialist team to provide psychological support and mental health expertise and accompany the police when responding to cases of attempted suicide. MSF replied that the current approach of mobilising the Police “prioritises (the attempter’s) immediate safety” and “time taken to mobilise a larger team… may delay (their) response”.  (See full text of question and answer).

Unfortunately, accounts from suicide survivors suggest that current processes are not adequately sensitised to their needs.  Here is S’s story.

S’s story: Social worker called the police because she was having suicidal thoughts, police then threatened to send her to IMH in handcuffs

For five years, S did not have a home. She bunked in with relatives and friends from time to time or slept in the streets before moving into a women’s shelter end 2016. In February 2017, S met with her social worker to discuss how she was finding the shelter. S was staying with five other women in the shelter who would frequently quarrel with each other and they all complained to S about their conflicts. S told him that her stay was fine but sometimes, she would feel ‘overstressed’ from having to listen to her roommates fight and complain to her. When the stress felt overwhelming, S said she would have suicidal thoughts at times.

Without S knowing, her social worker then sent a text message to S’s employer, saying that she was not feeling well and unable to go to work, and also called the police. Two police officers arrived at the social worker’s office and immediately started to question S. A police officer raised his voice asking ‘why are you suicidal?’ At around 7pm, two more officers and an Investigation Officer (IO) arrived. S found the IO to be ‘very pressurising’ as he repeatedly asked, ‘Do you want me to arrest you? Do you want me to catch you?’

S was bewildered by the police’s involvement as she was not actually attempting suicide. She felt that she was just doing what one does to a social worker – expressing her frustrations and feelings to someone who was supposed to listen and offer support.

The IO then suggested that S be sent to IMH, saying ‘you go or we will handcuff you to go’. S asked a second social worker (M) if she really had to go to IMH and M said yes. Before leaving for IMH, S managed to call and inform her step-brother that she was going to IMH.

S arrived at IMH at around 10pm, where she took various blood tests and spent 2.5 hours waiting to see a doctor. The doctor said S was OK and there was no need for overnight admission.

However, even after S was cleared by the doctor, M asked if IMH could admit S for two to three days, saying that they were worried if S were to go back to the shelter, she would ‘do something stupid’.

S described IMH as ‘scary’ and protested against her admission. The doctor confirmed that she would not be admitted into IMH.

The bill for consultation and medication came to $150. However, S felt that it was unfair for her to pay as she was there against her will, and she was also in financial distress at that time.

S found the experience to be ‘very traumatic’ and is upset by the fact that she now has a police and an IMH record from this incident. She was also very disappointed with her social worker for calling the police instead of providing a listening ear to her.

S is currently on her back-to-work support journey with Daughters Of Tomorrow, an economic empowerment programme supported by AWARE.