An examination of the suicide rates in Singapore shows the Chinese & Indians to be significantly more prone to suicide than the Malays. The author briefly discusses the cultural meaning of sucide for each group. Neither Buddhism nor Hinduism explicitly condemns sucide & for the Chinese & Indians, suicide is accepted as a way of dying under certain social & cultural circumstances. For the Malays, the ethical influence of Islam & Malay adat (customary law) serve as effective deterrents. (GW)