SMRT = Suicide Mass Rapid Transit
Jeremyphotobooth posted two shocking videos (link not working/see update below) that shows two men committing suicide on two different MRT tracks (Yishun and Admiralty stations) - THE favourite way to commit suicide in Singapore nowadays. A friend once asked me what does SMRT (the company that operates the train service here) stands for? She said SMRT means "Suicide Mass Rapid Transit". I couldn't disagree more.
Are platform screen doors such as the ones in Hong Kong (see picture above) the answer to Singapore's MRT suicide problem? I'm all for full height platform screen doors to make it impossible for one to jump onto the MRT track. Half height or chest level ones can still be breached by climbing over them.
SMRT has said that installing these protective barriers costs a lot of money but I think that they should just go ahead and do it for the sake of public safety and to prevent more suicide cases. Another solution is to make the trains slow down considerably before they reach the station but that will obviously delay the timings of the trains.
(via Tomorrow.sg)
Update: SMRT confirms the authenticity of the videos and say that they are investigating how they got leaked.
Update: Metacafe and YouTube have removed the videos. If you're lucky, you can still find them hosted on other video sites. Jeremyphotobooth who I mentioned in my post above, has been called to the police for questioning. He has removed the videos. Another blogger who some believed to be the first who posted the videos on his Multiply site has informed me that he too has taken down the videos.
Update: Some of you informed me that one of the videos can be found on LiveLeak.com. It even made it to LiveLeak's featured videos a couple of days ago. Singabloodypore also has the videos.
Update: A list of MRT deaths plus another person hit by the train today (Friday, March 2, 2007)
Remember kids, don't jump down MRT tracks ok.
Comments
Looks like it is taken from a handheld video cam!
want to die, die somewhere else lah. don't make problems for other people!
they can slow them down at about 20m from the station.
by the time they reach the platform, they are moving so slow that anyone who want to commit suicide will fail.
:oP
it is stupid to commit suicide on a mrt track because you still have to get into the station and pay for a ticket just to die.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
those ppl just sad :( suicide dont make things go well, go get some help, counselling anything then suicide -.-" man... geee...
The MRT is used by thousands and thousands of commuters daily. There should not be an interruption to the service every time when someone jumps down the track so the best way is to install the platform doors. A lot of countries with similar rail systems have done this so why can't Singapore where the standards of safety are supposed to be high?
What was the man in blue doing on the side of the tracks. Why wasn't he spotted by the security cameras. Worse couldn't the driver see a strange clump to one side of the tracks.He does after all have a full view of the entire tracks in front of the train.
The second incident shows the man clearly having the intent to jump. He is nervous and fidgety. Nobody seems to have noticed that.
the first video is worse than watch final destination ..
SHIVERS MAN.
and like, in the second video, did the guy survive .. cuz it look as though he managed to go underneathe the train .. however, his head must have hit somehting .. OUH MY GOD.
so gross.
which r the other stations that got suicides huh?
It goes to show how f**ked up SMRT is. How could a man have crawled under the platform unnoticed by staff or even other passengers? That Yishun suicide was 100% preventable.
And I think the police are over-reacting abit. I suspect it is the police officers (probably NSFs) themselves who leaked the video.