Tin Shui Wai cries out for help and support

Family disputes can have deadly impact as people who have been left out of the economic boom feel the pressure

While the Hang Seng Index has surged to record levels, a family tragedy in Tin Shui Wai has provided a chilling warning about the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

A woman threw her 12-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son - both their hands and feet were tied - from their 24th-floor flat in Tin Shui Wai before leaping to her death. The 36-year-old mother, who arrived from the mainland about seven years ago, had a history of mental illness.

The family relied on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance as the 47-year-old father is a terminally ill cancer patient. The mother left a suicide note, saying that she was unhappy and under immense pressure.

The deaths earlier this month are the latest additions to a list of horrific family tragedies in recent years. In July, a six-year-old girl was hurled out of a flat in Sha Tin by her father who jumped to his death. Last November, a construction worker chopped to death his wife and two daughters in their Wong Tai Sin home.

The increasing number of domestic violence cases poses the disturbing question - how could a parent kill their children in such a cruel way? Although the cause of every family tragedy varies, there is a common theme - poverty, conflict or parents suffering from stress who suddenly commit terrible crimes.

While Hong Kong's economy has grown rapidly since 2004, the number of poor people, however, has almost doubled compared to 10 years ago.