Two teenage secondary school students were found dead within 24 hours of each other, just as school was due to commence after the Lunar New Year holidays.
At 9:56am on Sunday, a security guard at Lee On Estate in Ma On Shan discovered a teenage boy lying unconscious on an outdoor platform, after having apparently fallen from a great height, HK01 reports.
An ambulance rushed the boy to Prince of Wales Hospital, where he was certified dead shortly afterwards. No suicide note or identity documents were found at the scene. At 7pm, police identified the deceased as a 16-year-old Form 4 student surnamed Lo.
The next morning, at around 6am, residents of Cheung Ching Estate in Tsing Yi found a 13-year-old girl in school uniform lying unconscious on the ground and called emergency services, Apple Daily reports. The child was declared dead on the scene.
The girl, surnamed Choi, was a Form 1 student and had also apparently fallen from a great height. Police told reporters that they believed Choi had fallen from a stairwell on the 29th or 30th floor of her apartment building after ostensibly leaving for school.
A spokesperson for the Education Bureau (EDB) told Apple Daily that the incidents were “very sad”. In response, both students’ schools have initiated crisis response groups, and the EDB has also deployed personnel to the two schools to provide appropriate support.
Referring to a November report issued by the Committee on Prevention of Student Suicides, – which was established after a spate of student suicides during the previous academic year – the spokesperson added that student suicides were “normally caused by a number of complex factors, such as mental health issues, family relationships, struggling to adapt, negative thinking, and a lack of social support”.
The bureau is reportedly considering a number of recommendations made by the committee, such as emphasising non-academic achievements and introducing better mental health support for students.
If you are experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts, please call the Samaritans’ 24-hour hotline at 2896 0000 for help.
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