A Bloody Little Red Dot.

Warning: Viewer discretion is advised.

2 nights ago, I was shown this video depicting an apparent suicide committed at Yishun MRT Station on youtube before it was promptly yanked off by 4am. Today, Leion showed me another video of the same nature, albeit taken at Admiralty MRT Station.

According to Tomorrow and Straight Times Forum, there have been 4 suicide incidents on the tracks in 2 months.

SMRT is on the receiving end of the brickbats, but, really, doesn't the crux lie behind the cause of such suicides?

What drives these victims to plan meticulously and in cold, calculating seconds, leap off the platform to be run over by the oncoming train?

As Little Speck has deftly collated, Singapore is

• the unhappiest nation in Asia.
• dismally ranked 140th out of 167 countries for press freedom by Reporters without Borders.
• sadly one of the world's highest rates (on per capita) for executions, having hung 400 criminals between 1990-2004).
• second last out of 41 countries (2005 Durex Global Sex Survey) in sex performance, which wouldn't have bothered the government had it not been for its very low procreation.
• displaying an average outflow rate of 26.11 migrants per 1,000 citizens, the second highest emigration rate in the world - next only to East Timor (51.07), according to an unverified website.
• ranked a poor 30th out of 35 countries in terms of courtesy and now - the Happy Planet Index of 130th out of 178 nations.

One cynic described Singapore as "a Disneyland without the laughter", where humour is not allowed, referring to a blogger whose newspaper column was banned because he wrote a satire piece on the rising cost of living. (cue Mr Brown, anyone?)

What's the problem? Everyone has his pet reason, ranging from "unbearable" pressures of life to overly high expectations to an incurable national trait of excessive worrying - in good times or bad.

Social trends leave people unsmiling; divorce is rising and there is an average of one suicide a day.

"Most Singaporeans don't know how to be happy. Either they are struggling or, if they're not, they are worried about something or other," someone commented. Its small size magnifies these potentials.

And the players of this game we know too well, don't we?

As Jack Neo craftily acronymizes in his latest movie Just Follow Law, an apathetic (and a pathetic) culture of BCC* has emerged.

With most sensationalized reports, the increase in track suicides will gradually plant the seeds of apathy. Human insensitivity to large-scale human suffering has recently been verified by scientists.

And that, is sad indeed.

[ *google the keywords "Jack Neo BCC" to discover a refreshing new take on this oft-used feature. ]