A Hong Kong couple found dead in their beds are suspected of having killed themselves in a suicide pact, police said Friday.
Ho Tat-cheung, 36, and Chiu Kwai-yin, 35, were found Thursday afternoon by firefighters, who broke into the couple's flat after a neighbour reported a burning smell, DPA reported.
They were declared dead at the scene. Burning charcoal was found nearby.
Police said that Ho, a kidney disease patient, had recently lost his job as a chef. Suicide by inhaling charcoal fumes is the third most common suicide method in the city of 7 million, which lays claim to beginning the macabre trend with the first recorded suicide by charcoal in November 1998 in Hong Kong.
It currently accounts for 130 to 140 of the roughly 1,000 suicides a year in the city.
The overall number of suicides has fallen in recent years because of the improving economy and anti-suicide measures such as warning stickers on charcoal bags and safety nets under balconies in shopping malls.
Hong Kong couple found dead in suspected suicide pact
A Hong Kong couple found dead in their beds are suspected of having killed themselves in a suicide pact, police said Friday.
