June 5 (UPI) -- Hong Kong authorities arrested a 29-year-old woman on Monday whom they accused in the death of her three young daughters.
The police superintendent said the woman, who was not named along with her children, was estranged from her husband and possibly facing divorce. Authorities said the children -- ages 5, 4 and 2 -- were pronounced dead at a local hospital after being taken from the woman's flat in the Sham Shiu Po subdivision of Hong Kong.
Chung said the woman and the girls lived in the flat on public assistance after moving there about a year ago. She separated from her husband after accusing him of having an affair, according to Chung.
She answered the door when officers arrive and they later found the children unconscious on a bed after officers forced their way into a locked bedroom door.
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Chung added that investigators believe the children died one or two hours before officers were alerted.
"We will not rule out the possibility that the mother earlier today smothered her three daughters to death with her own hands," said Chung, who added that detectives took bloodstained pillows from the scene and that the children were found with blood on their noses and mouths.
Police said they have not located the woman's estranged husband but added they have found no evidence so far that he was connected to the incident after the mother had previously claimed that he killed the three children and stabbed her.
"This is a very serious case of domestic violence, involving three young innocent girls," Chung said. "The police force attaches great importance to all domestic violence, especially those involving human lives and serious injuries."
