A 67-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly attacking his wife with a hammer in a stairwell of their Hong Kong residential building, before trying to slit his own throat.
A security guard at a residential estate in Quarry Bay alerted police at 10.16am on Saturday, after he found the man allegedly assaulting the 65-year-old woman during an argument.
The husband was arrested on suspicion of wounding.
The pair were sent to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan for treatment.
Sources said the site of the attack was Kornhill Garden, a middle-class estate in Quarry Bay.
One insider familiar with the matter said the man briefly left the stairwell after the security guard and a colleague confronted him. By the time police arrived, the man had returned brandishing a knife and holding it to his own neck.
Officers subdued him and confiscated the knife.
The man hurt his neck, while his wife suffered injuries to her head and hands.
The source said the couple had been married for 40 years, but had lived separately for many years. The man was said to have been trying to rekindle the relationship recently, but the cause of the attack required further investigation.
If you have suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 18111 for the government-run “Mental Health Support Hotline” or +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans and +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.
