Briton Held After Girl's Hong Kong Death Fall

The British father of a teenager in Hong Kong has been arrested after she plunged to her death from an upmarket apartment block.

Nick Cousins, and the girl's Filipina mother, were arrested on suspicion of "ill-treatment or neglect of a child or a young person".

Police emphasised that there was "no suspicious element" in the 15-year-old girl's fatal fall.

Mr Cousins, 58, is the managing director of the Hong Kong office of British multinational Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), one of the world's leading insurance brokers.

The girl's mother is a 53-year-old Philippine national, the consulate in the Hong Kong said, adding that they were still ascertaining her identity.

She is reported to be a former domestic helper, according to local media.

Mr Cousins has been released on bail but the teenager's mother was still in police custody on Wednesday afternoon.

The 15-year-old plunged from the 21-storey apartment block in upmarket Repulse Bay in the early hours of Tuesday morning, police said.

The teenager's mother has also been accused of overstaying her visa, while Mr Cousins was accused of aiding or abetting the overstay.

The couple were not married, Hong Kong police said.

JLT confirmed Mr Cousins had lost his eldest daughter "in tragic circumstances".

"We are giving Nick our full support through this difficult time and he will be on extended compassionate leave until further notice," the statement said.

Police said that the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene after a security guard found her lying on the ground.

"It was suspected that the subject fell from a height," police said without confirming which floor.

"We learned that the subject was probably upset about some daily life issues," the spokesman said in an email to the AFP news agency.

Local media reported that she had locked herself in a bathroom before her death.

Residents of the Repulse Bay neighbourhood expressed their dismay.

"I was shocked because she (the teenager) would always say 'Hi' to me. She was friendly," a domestic helper said.

She was often in the complex's playroom or at the pool with her younger sister, said the helper.