Moratorium on suicide penalties proposed until its decriminalisation

 

PARLIAMENT | Bills to decriminalise suicide were tabled for their first reading on the final day of this Parliament sitting in the Dewan Rakyat.

The bills were tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said.

The second reading of the bills will be made during the next Parliament sitting in May.

In a statement issued after, Azalina (above) proposed a moratorium on Section 309 of the Penal Code, until all amendments to decriminalise suicide are passed and gazetted.

Section 309 states that a person attempting to commit suicide faces imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both.

“Decriminalising attempts to commit suicide is one of the Madani government’s efforts to prevent suicide attempts and it hopes to encourage those suffering to come forward to receive help – thereby abolishing the stigma and reducing the suicide death rates in Malaysia,” she said.

Azalina added that the moratorium will also streamline the process of enforcement officials and prosecutors until suicide is decriminalised.

Her statement today was to explain amendments to bills that will decriminalise suicide, which include Penal Code (Amendment)(No 2) Bill 2023, Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) (No 2) 2023, and Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2023.

Sections 305 and 306 of the Penal Code will be amended to include the criminalisation of aiding and abetting attempts of the suicide of children and incapacitated persons.

The proposed penalty for abetting a suicide or an attempted suicide is imprisonment for up to 20 years, as well as a fine.

Meanwhile, the role of crisis intervention officers will be created and given powers of arrest under the Mental Health Act 2001.

Putrajaya has been talking about decriminalising suicide attempts since the Pakatan Harapan government back in 2019.

In 2021, the Health Ministry’s psychosocial helpline received almost five times more calls than it did the year before.

From January and December 2021, the helpline received 212,319 calls, compared to the same period in 2020, which saw the helpline receiving 44,061 calls. - Mkini