Meta Platforms is rolling out new Instagram alerts in Hong Kong to notify parents when their teenagers repeatedly search for suicide- or self-harm-related terms within a short period, as part of broader efforts to strengthen parental controls and online safety for young users. The global technology conglomerate said the alerts, which began rolling out to…
A power failure aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the South China Sea last month left the ship’s crew without potable water, hot food, working toilets or air conditioning for four days. The outage stemmed from an engineering failure aboard the USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a 7th Fleet…
A Hong Kong merchant has been jailed for five years and four months for attempting to murder his wife and three daughters by burning charcoal in their public rental flat after struggling to repay debts totalling nearly HK$900,000 (US$115,000). The High Court on Monday sentenced Wong Pak-ting in what the presiding judge described as a…
Youth suicide cases confirmed by Hong Kong Coroner’s Court reached a decade-high last year, despite a 10 per cent overall decline across the population to 1,019. According to the annual coroners’ report published last month, suicide cases confirmed by the court declined across almost all age groups, except for those aged between 10 and 19….
The latest child suicide figures from the Education Bureau make for grim reading. For three academic years in a row, suspected suicide cases among primary and secondary school students have remained stubbornly high – 32 in 2023, 28 in 2024, and 31 in 2025. Despite a deluge of government resources, the three-tier emergency mechanism in…
Hong Kong should broaden mental health support beyond high-risk students amid the growing impact of social media on young people, a government adviser has urged, as a prominent tycoon pledged to empower more young philanthropists to tackle the problem. Children who had not shown any of the usual signs of intense difficulty at home or…
Hong Kong education authorities have revealed that 91 students are suspected to have died by suicide between 2023 and 2025, with most cases involving secondary pupils and boys. The Education Bureau told lawmakers on Wednesday that the numbers of suspected fatal cases among primary and secondary students were 32 in 2023, 28 in 2024 and…
Hong Kong is reeling from a double tragedy on Wednesday after a 48-year-old social worker jumped to her death from her 19th-floor home in Taikoo Shing after arguing with her 12-year-old daughter about “education problems”. Hours later, the girl also jumped from her living room. The South China Morning Post breaks down the sequence of…
A Hong Kong school recovering from the tragic suicides of a Primary Six pupil and her mother does not suffer from intense academic pressure, a student and the vice-principal have said, stressing that promotion to its secondary section is automatic. Their remarks were made on Friday as an experienced psychologist advised against allowing surviving relatives…
An elderly man in Hong Kong is believed to have killed his ex-wife before hanging himself at a public housing estate, as he reportedly felt “hopeless” after their separation following years of marital conflict worsened by their son’s suicide, police have revealed. Sau Mau Ping Assistant District Commander of Crime Terry Wan King-hang said on…