An 18-year-old male in Tonga has been charged with attempted suicide.
The Central Police Station in Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa. Photo: RNZI/Gareth Thomas
A Police Chief Superintendent Tevita Vailea said police arrested the man on Tuesday morning after his mother reported the incident.
Mr Vailea said the number of attempted suicides was slowly rising in Tonga and there was a need for more mental health and anger management support for young people.
He said it was not the first time police had charged someone for attempted suicide, and the community must be made aware of the suicidal attitudes that exist.
"From a law enforcement perspective, we think that this offence is getting more and more and it's becoming a problem in the community. But we cannot ignore those kind of attitudes. Because once it's completed, it won't become an offence but someone has lost their life. So we think that yeah, we must take [them] to court," Tevita Vailea said.