Taiwanese student found dead in Mong Kok; study pressure suspected

A 23-year-old Taiwanese postgraduate student was found dead in a Mong Kok flat on Tuesday night (Nov 4) after allegedly overdosing on psychiatric medication.

Police said they received a report around 11pm of a suspected suicide at a flat at 46 Bedford Road in Tai Kok Tsui. Officers arrived to find the man, surnamed Wang, lying unconscious in his bedroom with numerous empty medicine packs nearby. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Investigations revealed that Wang came to Hong Kong from Taiwan in July last year to pursue a master’s degree at a local university. He was living alone.

According to sources, Wang had recently told classmates he was under stress due to academic pressure and unsatisfactory grades. At around 10pm on Tuesday, one classmate received a message from him saying he felt emotionally distressed and had taken about 90 psychiatric pills. The classmate immediately called police.

Firefighters later broke into the flat and found Wang unresponsive on his bed. A suicide note was recovered at the scene, along with more than 200 empty blister packs of psychiatric medication.

The cause of death will be determined following an autopsy, and the case remains under investigation.