Woman arrested for allegedly suffocating cheating husband with mattress

A 52-year-old woman was arrested for murdering after she allegedly suffocated her 62-year-old husband with a mattress over disputes that the husband was having an affair.

Both of them are retirees, and their 13-year-old son had been living at a relative's house since late last month when the dispute broke out, sources said.

The incident came to light when the victim surnamed Chung's 25-year-old nephew failed to contact him after returning from overseas, and Chung's wife, surnamed Law, refused to open the door when he visited their two-story metal hut in Chai Kek Village, Tai Po on Saturday night.

The nephew alerted the police at 11.31pm as he noticed the metal hut was unusually clean.

Law pretended her husband was sleeping when police officers arrived at the scene by calling her husband, shouting: "Honey, get up, someone is looking for you!"

However, the police insisted on entering the house and found Chung lying unconsciously in his bedroom. He was certified dead at the scene.

Initial investigations revealed that Law was suspected of pressing Chung down with a mattress platform and a mattress after he accidentally fell down when adjusting the bed frame.

Subsequently, Law was arrested for murdering and has been detained for inquiries.

Postmortem examinations will be conducted later to ascertain the cause of death, police said.

The case has been referred to the district crime squad for further investigation. The mattress and the platform were taken away by the police as evidence.

It is understood that Law and Chung often argued as Law suspected that her husband was heading to the bars to meet other women.

Their conflict had recently intensified, with the couple sleeping in separate rooms.

They had been embroiled in another argument a few days ago, ending up with Chung going back to his room to fix the bed frame. Thereafter, he was attacked by his wife with a mattress and mattress platform, sources said.

Forensic officers suspected Chung might had been dead for a period of 2 to 4 days.

It is understood that Chung was a construction site supervisor before retiring. He was enthusiastic about village affairs and used to be a village representative.

He has been married twice before, with both ending in divorce.

One of the two ex-wives, a British woman with whom he lived in the United Kingdom, supposedly took their children away from him.

A cousin of Chung said he returned from the UK about two decades ago to inherit his late father's properties. Despite owning at least two three-story village houses, Chung had rented another two-story house years ago and now lived in the metal hut with his family, he said.

The cousin said it is hard to believe that Law was arrested for the alleged murder, describing her as a "gentle and accommodating" person who often treated others to food and speculating that her actions might have been influenced by alcohol.

He last saw Chung a week ago and had a casual conversation with the wife just two days ago, without any unusual circumstances.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com