A five-year-old kindergartener saved his grandmother’s life yesterday with a well-timed telephone call after she burned charcoal in her locked bedroom.
At around 9am yesterday, the child reportedly noticed smoke coming out of the his grandmother’s bedroom in the family’s Shek Kip Mei apartment while the pair were alone at home together. He called out to her repeatedly, but received no response.
Feeling uneasy, the boy called his father and said, “Grandma wants to kill herself,” Ming Pao reports. Fearing that he wouldn’t be able to return to the flat in time, the boy’s father rang the family’s neighbour and asked her to check on his mother.
The neighbour, a 48-year-old woman surnamed Pang, confirmed the little boy’s story after smelling the smoke herself, and called emergency services.
Firefighters found the grandmother, a 57-year-old woman surnamed Yip, unconscious in her bedroom with charcoal burning next to her. She was rushed to hospital but was not reported to be in life-threatening condition, thanks to her quick-thinking grandson.
The five-year-old was also taken to hospital after he experienced mild discomfort from inhaling the smoke.
Police reportedly found no suspicious circumstances, and are treating the case as an attempted suicide.
If you are experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts, please call the Samaritans’ 24-hour hotline at 2896 0000 for help.
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