Boy, 7, plunges to death after failing school exam

A seven-year-old boy threw himself to his death from a block of flats in Yuen Long yesterday after learning he failed a Chinese dictation exam at school.

His mother, who was at work, returned to find a suicide note from her youngest son, Ng Dik-wai, on the living room table. It read: 'I am sorry I have failed in my Chinese dictation in school.'

She became worried when she saw police making inquiries in Kam Ping House, Long Ping Estate. Neighbours then told her a boy had jumped.

Police took her to Tuen Mun Hospital, where she identified her son's body.

He was a Primary Three pupil at a nearby school.

Dik-wai's teacher said he was average academically. He sat four dictation tests this term, achieving marks of 75, 50 and 95 in the first three, but only 30 in the latest.