Friday, December 12, 2008

SCMP:Troubled minibond investor attempts suicide

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=9R9J8ES96EV6&linkid=5f5d823e-98bb-45d9-9a5b-a431066bef9d&pdaffid=8HM4kDzWViwfc7AqkYlqIQ%3d%3d

13 Dec 2008Clifford Lo A widow who invested more than HK$5 million in Lehman-related investment products was rescued from a smoke-filled car in which she had cut a wrist and ignited charcoal, police said.

She had left a note on the windscreen of the vehicle, in a Ngau Tau Kok car park, saying: "Murder for money."

Last night, the woman, 45, was recovering at United Christian Hospital, where she was listed as stable.

Her apparent attempted suicide was discovered at 11.37pm on Thursday when an attendant at the car park, in Chun Wah Road, saw the vehicle and called police.

She was found unconscious, bleeding from her right wrist, according to police. Charcoal burning on a tray was also found.

The housewife reportedly said in a seven-page letter that the money had been left to her by her husband, who had died in 2005, and it had originally been invested in a Bank of China fixed deposit to support her and her son. But she said she had been persuaded to invest in Lehman Brothers-backed investment products. A letter dated November 28 from the Bank of China, indicating that the sale of investment products to her had not been deemed to involve anything inappropriate and that the bank would not buy back her investment product, was also found.
Saying in her letter that "she feels desperate" and "I am now extremely terrified", the woman signed off with "I have given up".

She also said in the letter that she had been suffering from depression and needed to take sleeping pills every night since her husband passed away, and the Lehman Brothers failure had made her life even more painful.

http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2c913216495213d5df646910cba0a0a0/?vgnextoid=b4c91e1e18a2e110VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=teaser&ss=hong+kong&s=news
http://www.mpinews.com/htm/INews/20081212/gb51053i.htm