The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a local man on Tuesday for trying to instigate his father’s suicide, PJ spokesman Lei Chi Hou announced during a special press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the suspect as a 42-year-old medical assistant at a private organisation, surnamed Wong. Lei added that the victim, also surnamed Wong, is the suspect’s father. The elderly man suffers from a long-term chronic illnesses and depression, is physically disabled, and has long been in a persistently negative emotional state, frequently threatening to take his own life, Lei said.
According to Lei, at around 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the victim fell in the family flat in Zape. Unable to contact his family, he became emotionally agitated. When the victim’s wife and the suspect later returned home, a heated argument broke out between the father and son. Lei said that in a state of emotional distress, the elderly father demanded that his son provide him with poison to kill himself.
The suspect then got a bottle of disinfectant from the bathroom, unscrewed the cap, and handed it, filled with disinfectant, to his father, according to Lei. The victim immediately swallowed it.
Lei underlined that, at that moment, the suspect failed to intervene or take any emergency measures.
Feeling unwell, the victim called the police and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. He was in a stable condition and out of danger, Lei said during the press conference.
After conducting an in-depth investigation and interviewing multiple members of the family, the Judiciary Police found no evidence of any major, long-standing grievances between the victim and the suspect, nor any indication of premeditation, Lei said. He added that PJ officers have been in touch with the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) to provide emergency support to the family.
The suspect was transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of incitement, aiding, or abetting suicide*.
Cases of abetment of suicide have been virtually unheard of in Macau, a retired lawyer told the Post last night.
According to Article 133 of the Macau Penal Code (1) Anyone who incites another person to commit suicide, or assists them in doing so, is punished by imprisonment for up to five years if the suicide is attempted or completed.
2) If the person incited to commit suicide or assisted in doing so, is under 16 years of age or has, for any reason, a significantly diminished capacity for judgment or self-determination, the perpetrator is punished by imprisonment for two to eight years.
Asked by the Post about the case, Fok Im Hong, deputy head of Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care** of the Women’s General Association of Macau (commonly known as Fu Luen), pointed out that carers are under immense pressure, and that the associated risks are increasing nowadays. She recommended establishing a clear “definition of a carer” and a tiered support system to allocate resources more precisely to families at different levels of need, as well as improving reporting and referral mechanisms. She called on the government to define “carer” clearly, establish a tiered support framework, expand respite services, provide targeted support for primary carers, and establish a cross-departmental early warning network to protect high-risk families.
*Instigation of suicide, also known as incitement, abetment, or encouragement of suicide, is a serious crime in many jurisdictions around the world. Even in jurisdictions where the act of attempting suicide itself has been decriminalised, intentionally pushing, convincing, or helping someone to take their own life remains illegal. – Gemini
** Yee Hong (颐康) means “nurturing” or “care” – MPD
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded suspect to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photos: Armindo Neves
A bottle of disinfectant seized from the family home of both the suspect and victim is displayed during yesterday’s special press conference at the PJ headquarters.
