SUICIDES AMONG FOREIGN WORKERS (Figures)

SUICIDES AMONG FOREIGN WORKERS

**

(Figures): **

6.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Manpower with regard to the recent report on suicides among foreign workers, what is the breakdown of foreigners committing suicide by nationality and how many of these were foreign domestic workers.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Currently, there are about 670,000 foreign workers in Singapore, of which 160,000 are foreign domestic workers (FDWs). In 2004, there were a total of 23 suicides involving foreign workers, of which 15 were FDWs. In 2005, the figures fell slightly to 18 and 13 respectively. As a comparison, the suicide rate amongst FDWs in 2005 was 8.6 per 100,000, which is close to Singapore’s overall suicide rate of 8 per 100,000 in the same year. FDWs from the two largest source countries, ie, Indonesia and Philippines, are also not over-represented.

Column: 1831