Woman ‘suffocates to death’ under pile of clothing in Hong Kong flat

A 59-year-old woman has been found dead in a Hong Kong flat, where she is believed to have suffocated under a pile of clothing that fell on her.

Emergency personnel were called to her flat in the Flora Garden housing estate on Cloud View Road in North Point at 8.41am on Friday, when police received a report from her family.

“Her son entered her bedroom and found the victim unconscious on the floor and covered by a large amount of clothing,” a police source said, adding the woman was certified dead at the scene and initial investigation found nothing suspicious.

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103-year-old woman and son, 59, found dead in Hong Kong flat

The victim, surnamed Tse, lived with her husband and three children in the three-bedroom flat, which was packed with clothing and sundries.

On Thursday night, she returned to her bedroom, which was also packed with clothing, and slept on the floor while her husband slept in the living room.

“It is possible that the pile of clothing fell on her when she was asleep on the floor and buried and suffocated her,” the source said.

The victim did not have a history of major illness and an autopsy would be carried out to ascertain the cause of death, a police spokesman said.

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