An off-duty police officer in Hong Kong is believed to have taken his own life by shooting himself with his service pistol in the New Territories, the Post has learned.
Police said emergency personnel were called in when a hiker found the injured officer lying beside a handgun in bushes near Muk Min Ha Tsuen, off Route Twisk in Tsuen Wan, at around 11.44am.
A police spokesman said the injured man was taken unconscious to Yan Chai Hospital in the same district, where he was pronounced dead.
A source familiar with the case said the man was a crime-squad officer in his 30s and had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
The insider said an initial investigation suggested the detective officer took his own life before he was scheduled to report for duty in Tsuen Wan police district in the afternoon.
Crime-squad officers were investigating the case, the force said.
The policeman was the second officer to have taken his own life in seven weeks.
On June 16, a 51-year-old officer killed himself with his firearm inside a changing room at a police marine division base in Sai Wan Ho.
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.
