bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Stella Lee

A failed abode seeker facing separation from her two-year-old son yesterday was rescued from a suicide attempt in Cheung Chau after making a desperate phone call asking for help to look after her abandoned boy.

Police had already found the boy, Lik-ki, wandering in a shopping centre in Tsz Wan Shan when his single mother, Wong Lai-fong, 25, called a South China Morning Post  reporter at lunchtime saying she was about to commit suicide.

Choking back tears, Ms Wong said: 'I'm in Cheung Chau. I've left my son in the Tsz Wan Shan centre. Please check that he's okay.'

The line was cut and the Post lost contact with her.

Police found Ms Wong outside a supermarket near the pier in Cheung Chau within 15 minutes.

Ms Wong was trying to jump into the sea but was stopped by a police officer, who injured two of his fingers when she cut him with a knife during a struggle.

Both were taken to hospital for treatment. Lik-ki was temporarily put in foster care.

Ms Wong, who faces removal on Monday, told the Post  on Tuesday she was considering putting her son in an orphanage.

Lik-ki was born in Hong Kong in June 2000 while his single mother, who came to the SAR in October 1999, was seeking right of abode.

The boy won residency under a top court ruling last year, while his mother lost her claim and her appeal this year to stay on humanitarian grounds.

Lik-ki is the latest of a series of children facing separation from their mainland parents after benefiting from a top court ruling that all children born in the SAR have right of abode, regardless of their parents' status.

Caritas Hong Kong social worker Bill Lay Yan-piau, who has been helping Ms Wong, said the Immigration Department agreed to defer her removal and extend her bail next Monday.

Mr Lay said while Ms Wong's solution to problems was totally wrong, her case demonstrated the pain split families were suffering.

'The Government should handle these cases with more sensitivity. Ms Wong said immigration officers had suggested she leave her son in an orphanage, which was described like a heaven to her. So she thought it was the best solution and that she could leave her son behind,' Mr Lay said.

He urged the mainland and Hong Kong governments to create more reunion channels for split families as people like Ms Wong were not eligible to apply for a one-way permit.

An Immigration Department's spokesman said he had contacted the Social Welfare Department to take care of Ms Wong and Lik-ki.

The Suicide Prevention Services 24-hour hotline number 2382-0000; Samaritan Befrienders (Cantonese) 2389 2222; Samaritans (multilingual) 2896 0000



Abode mother in suicide bid drama