An unidentified person wearing a hood is escorted by police...

An unidentified person wearing a hood is escorted by police officers to a park for video reconstruction of a crime scene where a Southeast Asian woman's body was found Monday at a waterfall inside the park in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: AP/Bertha Wang

HONG KONG — A foreign man living in Hong Kong has been arrested on suspicion of killing a Southeast Asian woman at a waterfall inside a park in the Chinese territory.

The woman, who was about 25 years old, was a domestic worker in Hong Kong but did not work for the suspect, police superintendent Sin Kwok-ming told reporters Tuesday night.

The woman went to the waterfall inside a park in Pok Fu Lam on Hong Kong Island on Sunday night with the suspect, but he rushed off alone in a taxi after staying there for about half an hour, police said.

On Monday morning, residents spotted the woman's body floating in the pond below the waterfall, Sin said.

An initial autopsy showed the woman drowned after being hit in the head with an unspecified hard object. Sin said the woman had injuries to her head and limbs.

The suspect and his wife, a Hong Konger, had gone to mainland China before officers arrested them when they returned to the city on Tuesday, Sin said. The man was detained on suspicion of murder and his wife was held on suspicion of assisting offenders.

The man holds a Hong Kong identity card, but police did not specify which country he or the victim was from.

An unidentified person wearing a hood is escorted by police...

An unidentified person wearing a hood is escorted by police officers to a park for video reconstruction of a crime scene where a Southeast Asian woman's body was found Monday at a waterfall inside the park in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: AP/Bertha Wang

“We found so many unreasonable things related to the arrested man. He didn't report to the police and immediately left Hong Kong after the incident. Some evidence related to him had disappeared too,” Sin said.

The investigation was continuing. The man and his wife were still in detention and have not been charged as of Wednesday morning, police said.

"This case involves a person’s life, and we take that very seriously. We will carefully unravel every detail to uncover the truth and to bring justice to the deceased,” Sin said.

A standoff between officials has stalled progress, eroded community patience and escalated the price tag for taxpayers. Newsday investigative editor Paul LaRocco and NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie report. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost,Kendall Rodriguez, Alejandra Villa Loarca, Howard Schnapp, Newsday file; Anthony Florio. Photo credit: Newsday Photo: John Conrad Williams Jr., Newsday Graphic: Andrew Wong

'A spark for them to escalate the fighting' A standoff between officials has stalled progress, eroded community patience and escalated the price tag for taxpayers. Newsday investigative editor Paul LaRocco and NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie report.

A standoff between officials has stalled progress, eroded community patience and escalated the price tag for taxpayers. Newsday investigative editor Paul LaRocco and NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie report. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost,Kendall Rodriguez, Alejandra Villa Loarca, Howard Schnapp, Newsday file; Anthony Florio. Photo credit: Newsday Photo: John Conrad Williams Jr., Newsday Graphic: Andrew Wong

'A spark for them to escalate the fighting' A standoff between officials has stalled progress, eroded community patience and escalated the price tag for taxpayers. Newsday investigative editor Paul LaRocco and NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie report.

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