More men in the country have committed suicide in the last four years, compared to women, the Parliament heard today.

In a parliamentary reply to Kuantan MP Fuziah Zalleh, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said emotional pressure and financial problems were the biggest contributing factors to the cases.

According to him, a total of 2,426 suicide cases were reported from 2018 until July 31 this year, and of the number, 2,030 involved men, while the remaining 396 were women.

As for the racial make up, Chinese made up the majority of the cases (807), followed by Indians (462 cases), and Malays (362), reported The Vibes. The race of 19 victims could not be ascertained.

People aged between 19 and 40 took their lives more, with 1,358 cases, followed by 960 cases involving those aged above 40.

As for the location, Selangor led the list with the most suicide cases (442), followed by Johor (375 cases), Penang (270), Sabah (145), Negeri Sembilan (137), Pahang (122), Kedah (111), Melaka (74), Kelantan (61), Terengganu (36) and Perlis (4).

According to previous reports, a total of 1,099 suicides were reported in the country from January last year until May this year - a trend compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a separate parliamentary reply, Ismail said that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) is in the midst of reviewing decriminalising suicide abetment and attempt, due to the rising number of incidents since 2015.

Between 2018 and June this year, a total of 902 people have been charged with attempted suicide, he noted.


Source: The Vibes
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