GEORGE TOWN - Penang police have set up a special unit to conduct periodic patrols on the Penang Bridge and Jambatan Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah to prevent people from jumping off the two bridges to commit suicide.
Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the special squad is made up of traffic policemen.
"On average, 77 people in Penang committed suicide in a year for the period from 2020 to May this year, and statistics showed that 20 cases involved people jumping off these bridges,” he added.
He said police were working closely with the state government and non-governmental organisations to check such suicide cases.
"Suicide is a sensitive issue, including to the family concerned, and it is difficult for us to say whether it is due to personal problems, family pressure or financial woes.
"Too much publicity on people committing suicide from these bridges could also encourage others to end their lives in a similar manner,” he told a press conference here today.
He also said police would be meeting with other relevant government agencies and the state government soon to find ways to overcome the problem of traffic congestion, especially on the Penang Bridge.
Unusually bad traffic jams were reported lately because the number of vehicles using the two bridges increased by 15.9 per cent last month compared to May 2019 during pre-COVID-19 pandemic times, he said.
"I have gone to the ground to check out the unusual traffic jams since last month and found that 3.1 million vehicles used the two bridges last month compared to 2.8 million vehicles in May 2019,” he added. - BERNAMA