Hong Kong man arrested for allegedly trying to kill wife, 3 daughters had business problems, police say
- Insider says police are investigating whether man drugged wife, three teenage daughters before burning charcoal in flat
The man’s wife, 44, called police at 6.17am on Wednesday to report that signs of burning charcoal had been found in the living room and that the door and windows of the public housing flat in Tuen Mun had been sealed with tape.
A container of doused charcoal was found in the kitchen, said Chief Inspector Sum Ho-man of Tuen Mun district crime squad.
The man was not at home when she made the call. She and her three daughters were taken to Tuen Mun Hospital for treatment and later listed as in a stable condition.
Sum said the man’s business was experiencing cash-flow problems and that he allegedly attempted to take the lives of his family members and his own.
He said police had mobilised a significant number of officers for a search in western Kowloon, and found the man in a guest house in Mong Kok.
Sum said officers were investigating whether the man had drugged his wife and three daughters, aged 13 to 16, before starting a charcoal fire at the Shan King Estate flat on Ming Kum Road.
An insider said earlier: “An investigation showed all four victims had dinner which the man prepared [at about 9pm on Tuesday] and felt drowsy afterwards, leading them to go to bed early.”
At around 5.45am on Wednesday, the wife woke up to choking smoke and found charcoal in water in the kitchen sink, another source said, adding that her husband was not home.
Emergency personnel arrived at the flat after the woman called police.
The source said the flat’s windows were closed and the door was sealed with adhesive tape, but no suicide note was found at the scene.
“Preliminary investigations showed the man had a failed business and financial difficulties,” the source said.
He said there were no reports of domestic violence or disputes involving the family, who had lived in the flat for more than 10 years.
A police spokesman earlier said the case had been classified as attempted murder.
Police handled 265 reports of domestic violence crimes in the first five months of this year, down eight per cent from 288 cases logged in the same period last year.
