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Clifford Lo

A 17-year-old student jumped to his death in front of 600 teachers and fellow pupils - including his younger brother - during a school assembly yesterday. 
Form Four student Wong Ling-fung plunged from a staircase between the sixth and seventh floors of the Tung Chung Catholic School about 8.15am.
He landed on the outdoor playground where the assembly was being held, as students in the front rows ran away screaming.
Police said a note was found in his schoolbag saying he was unhappy and had a poor relationship with one of his teachers.  
Teachers led  students back to their classrooms before paramedics and police arrived. Wong was declared dead at the scene.
'We were told that the boy suffered from psychosis. We are still checking with the school and his parents,' an officer said, adding  nothing suspicious had been found.
The mainland-born boy lived with his  14-year-old brother in Tung Chung and their parents, who are  cleaners.
His 45-year-old mother rushed to the school from work about 9.30am and was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital  in an emotional state.
Education psychologists and social workers from the school and the Education Bureau  offered counselling to students and teachers immediately after the tragedy.
But clinical psychologist Paul Wong Wai-ching,  of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, said he doubted whether resources were available  for long-term counselling.
'Hong Kong lacks the means for such a long-term follow-up,' Wong said. 'It's impossible for a school social worker to  take care of all the students and teachers,' he said.
He urged students and teachers who were distressed by the incident to come forward and seek help.
He said  those who saw or heard of the incident could develop posttraumatic stress disorder with symptoms including insomnia, loss of appetite and lack of interest.
The 17-year-old is the eighth student to commit suicide this academic year, according to the Education Bureau. Eleven students committed suicide in the 2008-09 academic year.
The school said it had set up a crisis management working group to follow up on the case and counselling was being offered to students and teachers. The bureau said  school development officers, education psychologists and student counsellors had been sent to the school. 
May Lam Mei-ling,  a committee member of the  Early Psychosis Intervention Society,  said  500 to 600  people aged from 15 to 25  suffering from psychosis  sought help from the  Easy Assessment Service for Young People with Psychosis  each year.
Grim toll
The number of students who have committed suicide this academic year: 8



Student jumps to his death in front of 600 teachers, classmates