Hong Kong mother suspected of suffocating 3 daughters aged 2 to 5; police say marital problems with estranged husband may have led to tragedy
- Children found unresponsive in Sham Shui Po flat, believed to have been suffocated
- Religious leader says husband sought his help about couple’s marital problems a few months before tragedy
A 29-year-old mother was arrested on suspicion of killing her three young daughters by smothering them with pillows in a Hong Kong flat on Monday, a few months after her husband approached a religious leader for help with their marital problems.
The three children, aged two, four and five, were found unconscious in the same bed in their subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po and rushed to hospital, but were later certified dead.
A source familiar with the case said the woman had confessed to the killings after she earlier claimed her estranged husband had murdered the girls and stabbed her.
Police Superintendent Alan Chung said the killings might have been related to her troubled relationship with her husband or that it was possible the woman did not want her three daughters to be taken care of by other people after a divorce.
He added that police were considering all possible motives.
Muhammad Arshad, the chief imam of Hong Kong, said the woman’s husband had approached him several months ago for help with the couple’s marriage problems.
