Father throws young son from Hong Kong shopping centre rooftop
A seven year old boy narrowly escaped death after his father, burdened by debt and despair, attempted a gruesome murder-suicide at a bustling Hong Kong shopping centre.
The young primary two pupil is in critical condition, fighting for his life at Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s intensive care unit following the harrowing ordeal, which unfolded atop the six-storey Kowloon City Plaza.
Security footage captured the chilling moment when the 58 year old father, with his son perched on his shoulders, approached the edge of the mall’s rooftop on Carpenter Road late yesterday evening.
In a horrific turn of events, the father, with his son still on his shoulders, hurled the innocent boy off the building before plunging to his demise.
Taxi driver Ma Kam-Shui and his son were later discovered unconscious in an alley adjacent to the shopping centre, their bodies bearing grievous injuries. While emergency responders battled to save the child, Ma was pronounced dead at Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, reported South China Morning Post.
Reeling from the tragedy, Ma’s ex-wife disclosed his gambling addiction and mounting debts to authorities, shedding light on the dark struggles that plagued him. Investigations further unveiled his troubling history of suicidal ideation, a despairing path that culminated tragically atop the mall.
In a statement to the press, Chief Inspector Law Chin-hon of the Kowloon City district crime unit remarked that the possibility that the father’s gambling addiction and insurmountable debts led him to this horrific decision cannot be discounted.
In related news, in a bid to combat the alarming surge in suicide attempts, the Department of Mental Health (DMH) leads an initiative to amplify its Hope Task Force network to a provincial scale. After a staggering 31,000-plus suicide attempts rocked the nation last year, the DMH is leaving no stone unturned in its mission to save lives.
If you or anyone you know is in emotional distress, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand 24-hour hotline: 02 713 6791 (English), 02 713 6793 (Thai), or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai). Please also contact your friends or relatives at this time if you have feelings of loneliness, stress, or depression. Seek help.
