Crushing cost of academic pressure: Hong Kong mother, daughter plunge to death hours apart

The alleged suicide of a woman and her 12-year-old daughter have left many stunned in Hong Kong and renewed concerns over academic pressure.

According to police, the 48-year-old woman died after falling from her Taikoo Shing-based flat on Wednesday. About 10 hours later, her 12-year-old daughter was found dead at the scene as she was also believed to have plunged from the same house, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

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Both the deaths are being tied to academic pressure, with education experts demanding stronger mental health support for families and youngsters.

As of now, it remains unknown why the two of them took the extreme step, however, a source told SCMP that the mother and daughter had an argument over academic issues just before the incident.

A clinical psychologist has asked authorities why the 12-year-old girl was allowed to stay in the flat after witnessing her mother’s death.

On Thursday, lawmaker Elaine Chik Kit-ling extended her deepest condolences to the deceased’s family. “The tragedy is heartbreaking, and it once again reminds society that family emotional support, youth mental health, and parent-child communication cannot be overlooked,” she said.

The lawmaker noted that the priority should be to take care of the grieving family members and ensure that they get appropriate support to protect them from unnecessary stress.

Further, she demanded communities, schools and government departments to come up with clearer identification and referral mechanisms to make sure that vulnerable individuals can receive early intervention.

The tragic incident has even sparked debate in parent chat groups as well as across social media, with users noting that this serves as a wake-up call for parents not to place excessive pressure on children’s academic performance.

“When kids were born, what were your wishes? All hoped they were healthy and grew up happily. Health and happiness are of utmost importance,” one person wrote in a chat group.

Also, some even attributed the tragedy to broader social pressures as well as the competitive parenting culture.

“Middle-class families continuously create competitions, and they are the ones who should be blamed. They keep pushing their kids to reach a higher level in learning musical instruments and to rank higher in their classes academically,” a user said.

Another added, “Do not let the distorted social vibe affect you. Hong Kong has already gone crazy. Parents compete with one another by comparing how good their kids are.”

Zanonia Chiu Sze-nga, a registered clinical psychologist with the Hong Kong Psychological Society, asserted that the child should have received support from both the government and the hospital after seeing her mother falling to her death.

“Much research already points out that people witnessing family members committing suicide suffer severe trauma, leaving a lifelong shadow that cannot be erased,” she said. “I doubt if there was any referral to a professional yesterday”.