A 28-year-old Hong Kong man being held in Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre pending a rape case hearing later this month was found hanging inside a toilet cubicle on Monday morning.
Suspect Lam Lok-man secretly took a bed sheet during cleaning at 8am and took the opportunity to go to a toilet in an activity room to try to kill himself – by tying the stolen sheet to a window frame to hang himself, Apple Daily reported.
Lam was found by correctional officers and immediately rushed to Caritas Medical Centre by paramedics. He remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit.
According to Apple Daily, police officers found a suicide note at the scene written by Lam, which explained his intention to commit suicide and referred to the case he has been arrested for. The matter was scheduled for a hearing at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Court on July 26.
The drama on Monday has been listed an attempted suicide and the police and correctional services will conduct joint investigation into the incident.
At 11am on June 9, a woman was raped inside her house by a suspect –allegedly Lam – in Po Tin Estate in Tuen Mun. The case went to court on June 14 with Lam held at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre since then.
This is the second such incident in Hong Kong detention centers by a rape suspect in recent weeks.
On May 11, a 48-year-old Hong Kong man identified as a rape suspect killed himself in room where he was detained at Sau Mau Ping Police Station in Kowloon using an ethernet cable.
The Samaritans run a 24-hour multilingual suicide prevention hotline on +852 2896 0000 or emails can be sent to jo@samaritans.org.hk.