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Education in Hong Kong
Hong KongSociety

Hong Kong children overwhelmed by academic pressure, with suicide accounting for a third of young unnatural deaths, government review of Coroner’s Court cases reveals

  • School work and relationship issues are among the main factors in 18 suicides over a two-year period
  • Over 120 children and teenagers in the city killed themselves between 2006 and 2015

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Eighteen children aged 11 to 17 killed themselves in Hong Kong over a two-year period. Photo: Handout
Victor Ting

Suicides accounted for 30 per cent of all unnatural deaths among Hong Kong children and teenagers over the course of two years, according to a new government report released on Friday.

The report, which reviewed Coroner’s Court cases in 2014 and 2015, found school work problems were the biggest reason for young people killing themselves.

A total of 18 young lives aged 11 to 17 were tragically cut short in that period due to suicide, which was the second most common cause of unnatural death among minors, after unascertained cases.

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Students exercise at the court of Choi Hung Estate. Experts are asking parents and others to keep an eye on signs that children may be struggling, such as losing interest in activities. Photo: Edmond So
Students exercise at the court of Choi Hung Estate. Experts are asking parents and others to keep an eye on signs that children may be struggling, such as losing interest in activities. Photo: Edmond So

The number of those who took their own lives in this age group was 123 in ten years from 2006.

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Overall, there were 59 unnatural deaths involving children of secondary school age in 2014 and 2015.

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