Suffering post-natal depression, mother leaps to her death with infant son
Suicide risk high for women with severe symptoms of the condition, doctor warns
A woman suffering post-natal depression leaped to her death with her four-month-old son from a public housing block in Fanling yesterday, just eight days after a girl died in an alleged murder-suicide that her mother survived.
Lee Hon-fun, 37, a translator with a travel agency before she became pregnant, was scheduled to visit her mother-in-law with her only son in Cheung King House, Cheung Wah Estate, at 2.30pm.
Her mother, 64, went with them to the main entrance of the building but she left after watching Lee enter the lift carrying her son, police said.
'The victim did not go to her mother-in-law's flat. She apparently went straight to the 25th-floor lift lobby where she jumped down with her son,' said the assistant Sheung Shui divisional commander of crime, Chief Inspector Chong Siu-hing. He said the woman and her son died instantly.
The bodies were discovered by residents who called police. Officers found the woman's handbag in the 25th-floor lobby but no suicide note. A police spokesman said there were no suspicious circumstances but officers last night were still examining the bodies at the scene, protected from view by a tent.
Chief Inspector Chong said it had been confirmed that the woman suffered post-natal depression two or three weeks ago. It was not known whether she was on medication or whether social workers were involved in her case.
The woman's 40-year-old husband was at work at the time of the tragedy, which police last classified as a murder-suicide. The family lives in Pak Wo Road, Fanling.
Hong Kong Medical Association spokesman Robert Law Chi-lim said 1 per cent of women could suffer very severe post-natal depression, with a higher risk of suicide.
'They have hallucinations, they may have suicidal tendencies and be unable to sleep. These are the warning signs,' the obstetrician said. About 20 to 30 per cent of women would have a minor degree of post-natal depression, while 10 per cent would be severe, he said.
He could not say whether adequate medical or government support existed to help women cope with post-natal depression.
Last Thursday, three-year-old Tang Pui-yan died after she and her mother, 33, were found unconscious in bed in their charcoal fume-filled unit in Tai Po. The girl's mother has been charged with murder.
Suicide hotline numbers: Samaritans (multilingual) 2896 0000, and Samaritan Befrienders (Cantonese) 2389 2222.
