| By Melissa Sim |
The actual number of suicides last year also fell – to 364, a five-year low.
The numbers are well below that of other Asian countries such as South Korea (24 per 100,000), Japan (23.1 per 100,000) and Hong Kong (18.6 per 100,000). Experts credit government policies and closer interaction among various volunteer groups for keeping numbers down.
Dr Chia Boon Hock, a psychiatrist in private practice who has been studying suicide data for 40 years, said the attention paid by the Government to issues of mental health, and policies that help the needy and elderly, have helped bring the suicide rate down.
Efforts to keep people employed are another key factor, he said, noting that unemployed people are much more likely to decide to end their lives: Data from 2000 to 2004, for example, showed that suicide rates among the jobless here were about 20 times higher than among those who had work.
The work done by volunteer groups is another key factor, said Ms Christine Wong, executive director of suicide prevention group Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), which released the figures yesterday.
Over the last two years, she said, SOS had been conducting training sessions for the staff of various voluntary welfare organisations, and this has resulted in better working ties with these groups. ‘They were more aware of our work and would refer more cases to us,’ she said.
The group is also working more closely with the police to counsel the desperate, and is helping more people now. She said the police referred 218 people who attempted suicide to SOS from April 2007 to March last year. In the 12 months following that, it saw 256 such cases, a 17 per cent increase.
Ms Wong said that support from grassroots groups, such as financial aid given by the community development councils, also helps provide vital relief for people struggling to cope with money woes.
Mr Jim Bek, an executive committee member of the counselling service Centre for Men and Families, suggested that family members be roped in as well.
They can help spot early signs of suicidal behaviour, such as sudden reclusiveness, he said. ‘They can then ask their family members to share their problems or seek help elsewhere.’
Going forward, SOS said it would work with more companies and recruit more volunteers to continue raising awareness of its suicide prevention efforts.
Dr Chia, however, warned that although the suicide rate fell last year, the economic downturn, which bit Singapore hard towards the end of last year and early this year, may lead more people to decide to end their lives.
‘It may not go up very much because there is general optimism, but those who will be affected will be those who have been hit by unemployment.’
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