Parents arrested after 12-year-old son falls to death while left home alone in Tsing Yi

A couple has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect after their 12-year-old son fell to his death while being left home alone in Cheung Hong Estate of Tsing Yi over the weekend.

Police said the boy was found lying unconscious on a platform outside Hong Shun House at around 8pm on Sunday. Paramedics were called to the scene and pronounced him dead on arrival.

Initial investigations suggest the boy fell from a flat in the same building. No suicide note was found, and the cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy.

The boy’s parents — a 44-year-old man surnamed Yu and a 42-year-old woman surnamed Chui — were later arrested for ill-treatment or neglect of a child or young person under their care. The case is being investigated by the Kwai Tsing District Crime Squad.

According to police sources, the parents left Hong Kong for Macau at around 3pm on Friday to visit friends. They reportedly invited their son to join, but he refused. The couple returned to Hong Kong the following evening.

At around 8pm that night, a passer-by discovered the boy’s body on a platform near the Cheung Hong (II) Shopping Centre and alerted authorities.

Police later contacted the parents, who returned to the estate to identify their son’s body. They admitted they had left him alone at home while they were away.

They were both released on bail pending further investigation after their arrest.