There were grisly scenes in Sham Shui Po last night with police called to a case of murder, suicide and arson in Tai Nan Street which left two neighbours dead.
According to a police statement, officers were called to a unit ablaze just before midnight. There were also reports someone fallen from the building on fire.
Outside number 214, they found a 68-year-old surnamed Chu man lying on the ground. The man was later pronounced dead at Kwong Wah Hospital.
Inside the building, within the unit on fire, was the body of a 59-year-old man surnamed Chow, which was discovered after the flames were doused.
The man, declared dead at the scene, had suffered injuries to his face, head and back.
“Initial investigation revealed suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire of the unit. The 68-year-old man was believed to have committed suicide, while his 59-year-old male neighbor was assaulted with a knife and a hard object,” police wrote in their statement.
“Post-mortem examinations will be conducted later to ascertain the causes of death of the deceased.”
According to Apple Daily, police are still looking into whether or not the pair had fought prior to the incident.
Chow’s neighbour, an unnamed elderly woman, told the newspaper that she was called by Chow’s wife on the night of the incident.
She said the his wife asked her to check on her husband as she had called him 10 times that evening and he still hadn’t picked up the phone.
“I pushed the door open, and all this smoke started gushing out.”
A female resident from the building’s fifth floor surnamed Wong also told the newspaper that she recognised Chu, saying that she sometimes walked past him on her way to work.
“I got worried that everyone would be sleeping and wouldn’t wake up, so I ran to the sixth floor and started knocking on doors and yelling ‘there’s a fire’.”
Reader Interactions