Suicide theme park proposed for Hong Kong island

A Hong Kong official said one of the territory’s tiny islands could make a killing with a novel theme park based on its unsavoury reputation as a suicide spot, a media report said on Tuesday.

The morbid suggestion to create a ghost-town attraction where guests were dared to spend the night in “haunted flats” came at a meeting of local leaders on little Cheung Chau island.

Councillor Lam Kit-sing said the island should capitalise on the grisly reputation of one of its holiday homes, where 20 people have taken their lives in the past eight years. Another five people attempted suicide there.

Lam believes the macabre park could be an added attraction for the millions of people expected in the city when Hong Kong Disneyland opens in September.

“A dirty spot yesterday will be an attraction tomorrow,” he was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post.

“This is innovative and has a selling point.”

The proposal received little support from fellow councillors, the paper said.