SINGAPORE: A teenage girl on Wednesday pleaded guilty to three attempts of suicide.
Seven other similar charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard
18-year-old Kathleen Seah Pei Yi tried to kill herself on 10 occasions -
from overdosing on Panadol tablets, to swallowing broken mirror pieces
and even inhaling gas fumes.
The district judge has ordered a probation and pre-sentence report.
Seah, who is unemployed, has been diagnosed with mild mental retardation.
She tried to take her life several times between September 2011 and May 2012.
On August 2011, Seah ingested 20 "Panadol Extra" tablets before meeting her friend at Bishan library.
She was later sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital after she said she was not feeling well.
One month later, Seah was found sitting on a ledge on the third floor of a flat at Kim Keat Avenue.
She repeated the act on another occasion within the same month.
She was then stopped by her father, a truck driver.
Seah, who has since been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health, told the court that she would not do it again.
She will be sentenced on 8 August.
Her father, who turned up in court, told Channel NewsAsia that he had been unable to deal with his daughter for some time.
In Singapore, a person who attempts to commit suicide can be imprisoned for up to one year, fined or both.
- CNA/ck
She should have been sent to IMH after the second attempt.
The judge should pass sentence on the father.
The girl needs help.
ehhh... reasons for suiciding???
but i agree maybe shld send to IMH, not lock up, but to seek treatment...
this one is like abit ... hardcore...
swallowing broken glass >____>
Yes it is damn silly law.
Next time we likely see people who wanna commit suicide smuggle drugs into singapore because they want to receive free mandatory death sentencing.
Singapore should emulate the UK mental health law that helps people who attempt suicide by providing them psychiatric help and detention at mental hospital to prevent them from hurting themselves. Going to prison will bring more terrible state of suicide for the one who attempt suicide.
It is a ridiculous law. The suicidal victims are already in dire straits, if impose further jail sentence would make their lifes more terrible.
As a result of this law, potential suicide victims would make sure that they go through with their suicide plan, no looking back, because failure to suicide in front of everybody would impose jail sentence.
Therefore it has no deterrent nature but only serve to encourage people to suicide.
Die die also must die.
Or else go to jail.