Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 13, 2019 News
Director of the Mental Health Institute, Dr. Util Richmond- Thomas, says that she is in full support of the decriminalisation of suicide and self-harm in Guyana.
The Director of the unit, which falls under the Ministry of Public Health, related that, “These are recognised mental health disorders, it was well documented in various textbooks, and we cannot criminalise something like that. I do support the decriminalisation.
“This law that was drafted some 100 years ago when mental health experts did not know as much about the psychological disorders that drives people to commit suicide as they do today.”
According to Chapter 8:01 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act of the Laws of Guyana, “Everyone who attempts to commit suicide shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and be liable to imprisonment for two years.”
India recently announced the decriminalisation of suicide, but its neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, among others, still continue to consider suicide and suicide attempts a crime.
However, Dr. Richmond-Thomas was keen to note that in Guyana, “people are way too careless with the storage of pesticides that most of these persons use to fulfill a suicide act.”
She added that she would like to see a drastic change in that regard and believes that more can be done with the police on their suicide investigations. Furthermore, she wants to ensure that persons are compliant with the laws and regulations under the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board.
It was only on Monday of this week that Kaieteur News reported that Balkarran Persaud, 57, of Martyr’s Ville, Mon Repos on the East Coast of Demerara, died after ingesting a poisonous substance.
But before the man died, he forced his estranged wife and his three-year-old daughter to swallow the poison. Fortunately, neighbours came to their assistance, and rushed them to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The woman, Kavita Persaud, 35, and her daughter are still patients at the hospital, but their conditions remain stable.
While a person who has died by suicide is beyond the reach of law, there can still be legal consequences in the cases of treatment of the corpse or the fate of the person’s property or family members. The associated matters of assisting a suicide and attempting suicide have also been dealt with by the laws of some jurisdictions.
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