3 die in suicide pact over debts
2008-04-02 10:27
Hong Kong - A family of three are believed to have killed themselves in a suicide pact motivated by mounting debts, Hong Kong police said on Wednesday.
The decomposing bodies of the woman, aged 65, and her daughter, 42, and son, 40, were discovered on Monday evening in their apartment by police after neighbours complained of a smell.
Police said the flat had been locked from inside and the windows and the door of the bedroom where they were discovered were sealed with tape. A pan of burnt-out charcoal was on the floor.
A bank letter addressed to the son showed outstanding debts of around HK$400 000 (R409 000). The three were believed to have been dead about a week.
The case is the latest in a series of apparent suicide pacts in the city of 6.9 million people.
A 62-year-old man and his wife, a cancer patient, were rescued on Monday from a flat filled with smoke from burning charcoal and were in a stable condition on Wednesday.
On March 19, a man died and his lover slashed her wrists and throat in a love hotel.
An average of about three people a day commit suicide in Hong Kong, most commonly by jumping from high buildings, hanging and burning charcoal to give off deadly carbon monoxide fumes. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA