It was deeply distressing to learn that a 19-year-old Rohingya youth who tried to set himself on fire was jailed for attempted suicide on Wednesday.

Attempting suicide is not a crime, and anyone who tries to do so should never be treated as a criminal. What they need is understanding, empathy and emotional support.

We are well aware of the deeply shocking trauma that the Rohingya community has been experiencing in recent weeks. When whole villages are burnt down, entire families slaughtered, women folk raped, survivors having to trudge through rivers and mud for days without food, is it so difficult to show some compassion towards the family, friends and relatives who would have been deeply affected by these atrocities?

It was only a few days ago that we marked World Suicide Prevention Day with pious statements about how people who have lived through a suicide attempt have much to teach us about how the words and actions of others are important. We acknowledge that many of those who attempt suicide do not want to die, but are instead crying out for help, hoping that someone will understand their sense of despair.

Surely we can do better than send the youth who attempted suicide to jail.

Furthermore, as if to pour salt on his wounds, he was sentenced to another three months in jail “for entering the country without legal travel documents.” Surely the deputy public prosecutor cannot be under the impression that most, if not all Rohingya refugees have legal travel documents? Proffering a charge of not having legal travel documents against a refugee can only be termed as mischievous and an abuse of the legal process.

Malaysia’s declared support and offer of temporary shelter for Rohingya who are fleeing persecution in their homeland will sound hollow if authorities are unable or unwilling to extend a little understanding for the feelings of a traumatised refugee community already in the country.