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The bodies were discovered in a flat in Po Shek Wu Estate, in Sheung Shui. Photo: Handout

103-year-old Hong Kong woman and son, 59, found dead in flat by firefighters

  • Police say deaths don’t appear to be suspicious and no suggestion pair took their own lives
  • Emergency services were called after security guard reported bad smell coming from home in Sheung Shui

Firefighters broke into a public housing flat in Hong Kong on Monday in response to reports of a bad smell and found the bodies of a 103-year-old disabled woman and her 59-year-old son.

Emergency personnel were called to the 11th-floor flat in Bik Yuk House at Po Shek Wu Estate in Sheung Shui at 2.17pm, after a security guard detected a strong odour.

“Firefighters broke into the flat and found the mother and her son dead inside,” a police source said. “The two bodies had started to decompose. We believe they had been dead for several days.”

He said there was no sign of forced entry into the flat, fighting or ransacking. There was also no burnt charcoal or note at the scene indicating suicide.

A police source says officers do not believe there is anything suspicious about the deaths. Photo: Warton Li

The source said a preliminary investigation suggested it was a “tragic” case.

“We were told the woman had difficulty walking and used a wheelchair, and she lived with her son who was responsible for looking after her,” he said.

The insider said it was possible the man had collapsed and died in the flat, and his mother later perished as there was no one to take care of her.

Another source said the man’s body was found in the living room near the front door while the mother was in the bedroom.

“The woman’s body was found on the floor next to a wheelchair which had flipped over. It appears she fell on the floor while trying to climb from her bed to the wheelchair,” he said.

An employee at Cafe 100%, a restaurant beside Bik Yuk House, said she last saw the pair about two months ago in the afternoon.

“The son would wheel his mother into the restaurant,” she said.

“They didn’t talk much. They usually shared a tea set and the son would feed the mum.”

According to the force, the pair were last seen by neighbours on August 29.

A strong smell still lingered on the 11th floor of Bik Yuk House on Monday evening. Investigators, some in protective clothing, were seen interviewing residents living on the same floor.

Officers at the scene said nothing suspicious about the case had been found.

Police said autopsies were likely to be carried out to establish the cause of death.

A Social Welfare Department spokesman said the mother and son were not under its assistance, adding that staff would follow up on the case and offer help and support to other family members involved.

Last December, an 84-year-old man collapsed and died in his public housing flat in Kwai Chung while his wife, 76, was suspected to have suffered a stroke and was unable to call for help.

His death came to light when a security guard visited the couple in Shek Lei Estate on December 15. The wife was then taken to hospital for treatment.

Two days earlier, a 53-year-old woman died in hospital hours after firefighters broke into her Tuen Mun flat and found the decomposing body of her elderly mother.

Her older brother had raised the alarm when he visited the Siu Hong Court flat on December 13. He called police as the flat was locked from the inside and there was a bad smell.

Firefighters found the 81-year-old mother dead in the living room and her daughter unconscious in a bedroom. Investigations uncovered nothing suspicious.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: ‘tragic’ end as mother, son found dead in flat
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