The number of suicides in Singapore rose 26 percent last year to its highest level in more than two decades, reflecting, according to a local NGO, a “hidden psychological problem” in society.
The Samaritans of Singapore Center for Prevention, in its annual press release that includes statistics on this issue, expressed concern about suicide rates among young people between the ages of 10 and 29 and individuals between the ages of 70 and 79, reports Al-Rai daily quoting AFP.
The statement stated that the number of suicides, which reached 476 in 2022, “is the highest (…) since 2000,” noting that 378 cases were recorded in 2021.
Psychiatrist and mental health consultant Jared Ng pointed out that “the unprecedented increase in the number of suicides (…) indicates the presence of a hidden psychological problem hanging over (Singapore) society, especially among the youth and the elderly.”
He stressed the need to “be vigilant about pressing issues that still greatly affect mental health, such as social isolation and loneliness.”
The statement stated that suicide “was for the fourth year in a row the main cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 29,” representing 33.6 percent of all deaths in this age group, with 125 deaths in 2022.