'Family pact' leads to deaths of parents, arrest of son

Sophie Hui

A 41-year-old trader was arrested in Yuen Long on suspicion of helping his parents kill themselves in a family suicide pact before backing out at the last minute.

The father Lau, 73, and mother Hui, 66, plunged to their deaths from the rooftop of Ho Choi Building at 1.46am yesterday.

Police said they received multiple reports saying the couple were lying on the building's platform and suspected that they fell from the rooftop.

The husband was found dead when officers arrived, while the wife was unconscious and sent to Pok Oi Hospital, where she was later certified dead.

Police found a suicide note at the scene.

"After initial investigation, it is believed that [the son] had helped with the suicide, so officers arrested him for aiding another to commit suicide," police said.

The case has been classified as a suicide pact and is being investigated by the Yuen Long district crime squad.

It is said that the family was troubled by a HK$200,000 debt and that the three allegedly agreed to commit suicide, but the son got cold feet.

It is understood that the couple, who were retired, had sent messages to their friend regarding their suicidal thoughts. The worried friend called police.

The couple bought the flat in July last year for HK$3.23 million.

A neighbor said the family moved into the apartment late last year.

The building on On Hing Street was under lockdown on Monday, when 172 residents all tested negative for Covid-19.

The son could be prosecuted in a rare charge of helping people commit suicide.

Whether he was involved in a suicide pact or aided his parents in committing suicide depends on the evidence, barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung said.

"The person who survives a suicide pact could be prosecuted for manslaughter as they were carrying out the suicide pact and caused someone's death. This is serious and the maximum penalty for manslaughter is life sentence," Luk said.

According to Article 5 of the Homicide Ordinance, a suicide pact is a common agreement between two or more people aimed at the death of all, whether or not the individuals take their own life.

The article also states that a person acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and another to kill the other or be a party to the other being killed by a third person, is also manslaughter.

Article 33B of the Offences against the Person Ordinance states the criminal liability for complicity in another's suicide. A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another, or an attempt by another to commit suicide, shall be liable on conviction to 14 years in prison.

In December 2019, a couple were arrested after surviving a suicide pact. The two were burning charcoal in their Sai Kung flat but their son came home and found them unconscious. The couple was sent to Tseung Kwan O Hospital.

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com