Tragedy strikes for newlyweds after husband’s sudden death triggers suicide

A 33-year-old woman committed suicide in her Tai Po home yesterday just 12 hours after her husband died of a heart attack following a football match on Saturday.

At 9am, police received a report that the woman, Wei, had hanged herself in her apartment at Fortune Plaza.

Wei married her 34-year-old husband Chan three months ago and they leave no children behind.

It is understood Chan was playing in a football match with friends at Wan Tau Kok Playground around 9pm on Saturday but fell into a coma 20 minutes after the game ended. He was taken to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital where he was certified dead.

Chan’s older brother and sister-in-law sent Wei to her home afterward, sources said. However, when they went to visit her the next morning, they found her hanging on a metal tube in the bathroom with a nylon string around her neck.

She was declared dead at the scene. In a suicide note, sources said, Wei had said she was devastated by her husband’s sudden death, noting she was left with no direction in life.

A mourning ceremony was held at the playground at around 5pm yesterday, during which relatives brought dishes that the couple loved to eat and burned joss paper.

Clarence Tsang Chin-kwok, executive director of the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong, weighed in to say those who have recently lost their loved ones should not be left alone. The company of others could make them “feel less uneasy,” he said, adding: “If they have children or something they care about, these are factors that keep suicidal thoughts at bay.”

If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, help is available. Dial 2896-0000 for the Samaritans or 2382- 2007 for Suicide Prevention Services. You can also call the prevention services at 2382-0000 or CEASE Crisis Centre of Tung Wah Groups of Hospitals at 18281.