Boy, 7, drowns in Hong Kong hotel pool, police investigating possible neglect
- Boy is pulled out of the water unconscious by his father, receives CPR from lifeguard and doctor but later dies in hospital
A seven-year-old boy has drowned while swimming in a Hong Kong hotel’s pool, prompting police to investigate whether child neglect was involved.
A source familiar with the case said the boy and his brother were taken by their father, 49, to the Gold Coast Hotel in Tuen Mun for a swim shortly before 10am on Monday.
“At around 10.50am, the seven-year-old boy was found unconscious in the hotel’s swimming pool,” the insider said on Tuesday.
According to the force, the boy was pulled out of the water by his father.
The source said the boy was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the spot by a lifeguard and a doctor. He was then rushed to Tuen Mun Hospital, where he died soon after 2pm on the same day.
The insider said the victim did not have any unusual medical history or illness.
“Preliminary investigation suggested the boy accidentally drowned while swimming,” police said, adding an autopsy would be carried out to ascertain the exact cause of death.
The force temporarily classified the case as child neglect, an offence punishable by up to 10 years’ jail.
Police said detectives from the Tuen Mun criminal investigation unit were handling the case. So far, no arrest has been made.
The Post has contacted hotel for comment.
According to statistics from the Social Welfare Department, the city recorded 411 reports of newly registered child protection cases between January and March this year, an increase of 15 per cent from 347 cases logged in the same period in 2023.
Among the 411 cases reported in the first quarter of this year, 20.7 per cent were related to neglect while 39.9 per cent involved physical harm.
