SINGAPORE: In 2023, a man in Hong Kong burned charcoal in the bedroom he shared with his father, in an attempt to take his father’s life along with his own.
Au Chi-ming, now 53, had been his 90-year-old father’s sole caregiver.
After racking up a total of HK$250,000 (S$41,700) in credit card debts and being unable to pay rent for three months, he was declared bankrupt. He then hatched his murder-suicide plan, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
Au, a former warehouse worker, said that his father, Au Pong-keung, had told him that he had no desire to live long. He did not, however, tell him of his plan. The elder Mr Au had fallen in 2022, after which he steadily grew more unwell.
In September, Au Chi-ming pleaded guilty to attempting to take his father’s life. He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on October 10.
On August 4, 2023, Au burned charcoal in the shared bedroom in the flat where he lived with his older sister and niece at Sha Tin’s Chek Nai Ping village. At around 12:30 p.m., his sister smelled smoke coming from the room.
Au, although sluggish, walked out of the bedroom on his own, but their father was unresponsive to calls. After they were seen to by emergency responders, it was discovered that father and son had carbon monoxide poisoning, although the levels were not lethal.
Au later said that he was afraid no one would look after their father if he were to take his own life, and told the authorities that no other family member was aware of his problems.
The clinical psychologist from the Correctional Services Department who had evaluated Au noted that he had social and emotional challenges and poor problem-solving and stress management skills, but added that he no longer has suicidal thoughts and does not seem likely to reoffend.
“He couldn’t see a way out of his predicament, and he saw that his dad was suffering. He didn’t want his father to have no quality of life in those circumstances,” said Nisha Mohamed, Au’s lawyer.
The judge on the case, Judianna Barnes, pointed out that the family could have applied for disability allowance for their father. She added that while the circumstances were tragic, a jail sentence was warranted in Au’s case. /TISG
Au Pong-keung was brought to a home for elder care on Aug 23. In March 2024, he died of COVID-19. /TISG
