Hong Kong land dispute ruling revealed hours after murder, suicide cases

A 19-year-old Hong Kong man leapt fatally from a building shortly after reporting the death of his grandfather and father who were found in their village home on Tuesday evening with stab wounds inflicted by sharp objects. The tragedy came to light hours before the District Court handed down a judgment on Wednesday on a land dispute believed to involve the 93-year-old grandfather and a developer. The man had also been engaged in other similar legal battles over the years, with his son and grandson helping him in court. The man represented himself in the latest case, which he lost. Police on Wednesday said they had classified the two cases in Yuen Long as murder and suicide and were looking into the causes. Yuen Long Assistant District Commander Johnathan Kwan Chun-him said police received a call from a 19-year-old man regarding the death of his grandfather and father in a ground-floor flat in Chun Hing San Tsuen, off Wang Tat Road, at 8.10pm on Tuesday. Five minutes later, the force received a suspected suicide report, later confirmed to be the teen. Officers went to the village house and found the bodies of the grandfather and his 69-year-old son. A forensic examination showed the two men had been stabbed with sharp objects. “Our initial findings found out there were multiple wounds on the 93-year-old man’s face and neck, and heavy bleeding over his body,” Kwan said. “The other 69-year-old man was also found to have been cut and stabbed at his face, neck, arms and chest. They were certified dead at 8.50pm.” A 22cm-long pair of scissors and a 21cm-long fruit knife with blood stains were found near the two bodies. The grandson, who was believed to have jumped from the 18th floor of Yuet Ping House in Long Ping Estate, a 10-minute walk from the village, was certified dead at 8.30pm. He was found to have gone to the village flat alone after his grandfather and father returned home, then left after allegedly killing them. Kwan said police would look into the causes of the case, including the different parties’ backgrounds and relationships, to see whether there had been conflicts or financial disputes among them. Some District Court judgments, traced as far back as 2014, showed that three individuals with the same Chinese names as the trio had been involved in legal battles against developers over plots of land. The plots were owned by a man sharing the same name as the grandfather. Several court documents stated that the landowner was born in 1931 and, due to financial hardship during the war, only received education up to Primary Two. In Wednesday’s judgment, the court ruled in favour of a developer seeking a partition order over a Yuen Long lot measuring 1.65 hectares (four acres), an area equivalent to about 2½ football pitches. According to the judgment, the landlord’s ancestors left a piece of land to him and eight other brothers. A developer expressed an interest in acquiring the land and gradually bought the ownership rights from the other eight brothers. The developer had acquired 8/9 of the ownership rights by the late 1990s and then asked whether the man was willing to sell the remaining 1/9 share, but he refused, leading to the legal battle. The company said it aimed to develop the lot for other purposes but was deprived of the chance to do so. In 2022, the landowner was involved in another lawsuit against a different developer over four plots of land. The developer planned to build homes including transitional housing and asked him to sell the four plots but he refused. During the lawsuit, the court allowed the man’s son to help him present his case because of his old age and difficulty speaking. However, according to a legal document, the son’s assistance was “not ideal”, leading the court to allow the landowner’s grandson to help him instead. The names also matched those of the deceased son and grandson. The man lost the case in the end. If you have suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 18111 for the government-run “Mental Health Support Hotline” or +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans and +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Hong Kong land dispute ruling revealed hours after murder, suicide cases

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Court hands down judgment in case believed to involve man, 93, suspected to have been murdered with son, while grandson leapt to his death

Court hands down judgment in case believed to involve man, 93, suspected to have been murdered with son, while grandson leapt to his death