A 4-year-old boy was tragically killed yesterday in an apparent freak accident in which he was choked to death by a folding table while playing in his living room in Sai Wan.
Police received a call from a neighbor at around 7:26pm yesterday evening reporting a call for help from a 24-year-old woman, surnamed Zhuo, regarding her 4-year-old boy, surnamed Li, on.cc reports.
Officers arrived at the scene and found the boy unconscious, with no pulse, and immediately initiated first aid while calling for an ambulance. The boy was rushed to hospital for treatment, but lifesaving measures proved unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 8:28pm.
At the time of the incident, Li was playing in the living room by himself while his mother was cleaning in another room, according to Headline Daily. Suddenly, the mother heard a loud bang coming from the living room, and rushed in to find a folding table had collapsed with her son caught between its legs.
A neighbor, having heard cries of distress, called the police, and Zhuo carried her son downstairs to wait for first responders.
Police were told by the boy’s family that Li’s neck had gotten caught in legs of the folding table after it apparently folded unexpectedly, presumably because the locking mechanism was not in place at the time.
Following to a preliminary investigation, police believe that Li had accidentally folded the table while playing in the living room, and that foul play was not involved.
The family of three are newly arrived immigrants and the mother is currently a salesperson.
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