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Clifford Lo

Wong King-cheung left a suicide note in his office drawer

Southern District councillor Wong King-cheung  died after he gassed himself with charcoal fumes in his office in Ap Lei Chau yesterday.

Wong, 43, also a school supervisor, was found dead in the district council office in Tung Hing House, Lei Tung Estate, when his assistant  arrived for work shortly before 2.30pm.

Emergency crews were called to the ground-floor office, when his assistant found  a room locked and noticed smoke in the air.

Firefighters broke  in and found Wong lying unconscious on the floor, according to police. A charcoal stove was found beside him.

The elected councillor was declared  dead by paramedics at the scene.

A police spokeswoman said a suicide note was found in a drawer.  Initial investigations showed  Wong killed himself because he was ill  and there were no suspicious circumstances, she said. Police would not describe his illness.

He was last seen in his office on Monday night, when he worked with his assistant, according to a police officer.

Wong, who had been active in a wide range of community work, was first elected to the Southern District Council in 1988 at the age of 28. He served as an  Urban Council member in 1994.

The councillor was understood to have lived with his adopted son in Ap Lei Chau.

In a separate case, another man died and his live-in girlfriend survived when the couple - who were  heavily in debt - burned charcoal to commit suicide in their Tai Po home early yesterday.

Police and fire officers were called to the ground-floor unit of a three-storey house in Tai Wo Service Road West when the woman, 27, regained consciousness and called police at about 3.30am.

Firemen broke into the unit and found the man, 31, lying unconscious on the floor and the woman in a semi-conscious state, according to police. He was certified dead by ambulance workers at the scene.

Last night, the woman was in serious condition in North District Hospital. Police said  suicide notes were found in the unit.

Suicide prevention hotlines: Samaritans (multilingual) 2896 0000 and Samaritan Befrienders (Cantonese) 2389 2222.



Ill councillor kills himself burning charcoal, say police