Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of killing his 44-year-old stepfather during a dispute over trivial issues at a public housing flat.
A source familiar with the case said on Thursday police also arrested the 22-year-old suspect and his elder sister and mother for allegedly perverting the course of justice by misleading officers into believing the victim lost his footing and fell on the ground.
Emergency personnel arrived at the family’s flat at Fortune Estate in Cheung Sha Wan at around 2pm on Monday after a 59-year-old woman called police claiming her husband had been found unconscious with head injuries at home.
The man was transported to Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po, where he was pronounced dead.
Given the suspicious nature of the victim’s head injuries, officers questioned his wife and two step children, aged 22 and 33.
The source said police were told the man suffered head injuries after he lost footing and fell twice on Sunday and Monday.
“Preliminary investigation revealed the man had a dispute with his stepson over trivial matters, which escalated into a physical altercation and assault by the stepson,” the insider said.
“During the altercation, the victim sustained head injuries and subsequently died.”
The stepson, who is unemployed, was detained on suspicion of killing the man and perverting the course of justice.
According to the force, the suspect was charged with one count of manslaughter while the two women were charged with perverting the course of justice.
Police said the three suspects would be brought before West Kowloon Court on Thursday afternoon.
Detectives from the Sham Shui Po district crime squad are handling the case.
Between January and May this year, police handled eight homicide reports, compared with 11 cases in the same period in 2023.
