Mother, Children Die In Murder-suicide: Police

Police said on Sunday that they were treating the deaths of a mother and her two children in a flat in Cheung Sha Wan as a murder-suicide.

Police say they received a report of a suspected gas leak at around 8am on Sunday at the flat in Lotus House in So Uk Estate.

Firefighters broke in and found the three lying unconscious in a bedroom because no one answered the door.

The 32-year-old mother, 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter were rushed to the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Caritas Medical Centre, and pronounced dead at around 10am.

Officers say the father was working on a late shift when the incident took place and there’s no evidence of financial problems, conflicts within the family or domestic violence.

Cheng Chun-kit, Police Assistant District Commander of Sham Shui Po, said a gas pipe in the kitchen had been cut.

He said they also found "a substantial amount of cloth and also paper ... placed near the windows and door sills to prevent any air from coming in".

He said the flat was also locked from the inside and there was no sign of any disturbance inside the apartment.

He said police are still investigating.

He said the couple had been married for 12 years, and the mother, who’s a housewife, moved to Hong Kong seven years ago.

They said the two children were both studying in a school in Ma Tau Wai, and their conduct in school and their academic performance were good.

Police said the children's school is aware of the incident.