Hong Kong teenager murders mother and sister

Sunday, July 25, 2010

The suspect fled to Tsuen Wan Riviera Park after killing his mother and sister.
Image: Hong Kong Student.

A 15-year-old boy from Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong murdered his mother and sister with a chopper in the early hours of Thursday morning. Police records show that the teenager had no record of drug abuse or mental illness, and was known by neighbours to be a well behaved, polite boy. The only clue to the motivation of the murder was when he told police "the world would be better with fewer people" during interrogation.

The teenager attacked his mother, 42, and 12-year-old sister in their flat while his father was working at the family-owned restaurant situated across the road. After killing them, he fled the scene and called police at approximately 3:30 a.m. HKT (1930 UTC, July 21) from a telephone booth in a nearby park. As he was waiting for the police to arrive, he cut a wound in his own hand. When police found him, he was wearing black gloves and was covered in bloodstains, and carrying the chopper in his rucksack. They escorted him back to the family home and discovered his mother and sister's bodies which were inflicted with extensive knife wounds to their necks and abdomens. The boy's father temporarily shut down his restaurant as a result of the murder, and visited his son in hospital while he was receiving treatment for his hand laceration.

The boy, who studies at Po Leung Kuk Lee Shing Pik College, ranked first in class in Primary Six, and was known to be well behaved, friendly and hard-working. His principal, his father, an employee at the family's restaurant and a neighbour were said to be shocked at the news of the murders. The local newspaper vendor described him as "polite". There have been no record of any arguments among the family members; however, graffiti which is believed to have been written by the teenager was found on the walls of the block of flats where the boy lives. The graffiti includes foul language, including "shit" and "bitch", as well as "I love you" and "Happy birthday (little sister)". A psychiatrist told Hong Kong newspaper The Standard that he may have committed the murder as a result of incubated mental illness that his family were not aware he was suffering from, or that he may have experienced a huge setback or terrible experience.

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