Hong Kong merchant jailed over family charcoal murder bid
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
A Hong Kong High Court judge sentenced merchant Wong Pak-ting to five years and four months in prison on Monday after he pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted murder.
The 45-year-old admitted trying to kill his wife and three daughters in the family’s public rental flat at Shan King Estate in Tuen Mun on June 25, 2024.
The court heard Wong mixed sleeping pills into food and drinks, then sealed the flat and placed burning charcoal inside after his family fell asleep.
He later put out the charcoal because he said he could not bear to watch his family die, but his wife and daughters still suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.
Key Points
- Wong Pak-ting, 45, had been struggling to keep his food distribution business afloat while trying to repay debts totalling nearly HK$900,000.
- He told police he had received psychiatric treatment for depression since March 2024 and feared debt collectors would harass his family.
- Wong crushed about 10 sleeping pills into beef noodles and added roughly two pills to each of five bubble tea drinks.
- After his family slept at about 8pm or 9pm, he sealed the 310 sq ft flat and placed several pots of burning charcoal around it.
- Firefighters found his 44-year-old wife, Leung Ka-wai, and three daughters aged 13 to 16 conscious, with carboxyhaemoglobin levels of 9.3 to 10.2 per cent.
Why It Matters
The case shows how untreated or worsening mental distress, combined with severe financial pressure, can escalate into life-threatening violence inside a family home.
It also underlines the risks faced by households in small flats, where charcoal burning can quickly endanger multiple people even when exposure does not prove fatal.