HONG KONG (AFP, REUTERS) - A South Korean man has been arrested for the suspected murder of his wife and seven-year-old son on Sunday (Jan 14) at the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel on Hong Kong's harbourfront, officials said.

Police rushed to the hotel after receiving a report on Sunday morning that a man and a woman, both aged 42, were fighting.

The woman and the boy were found dead at the scene while the man was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to hospital, police said.

Assistant Yau Tsim district police commander Chan Tsz Leung said investigators had found multiple cuts on the woman's neck, while the boy sustained a cut to his throat.

The man had minor cuts to his fingers and face. Police believed the man might have consumed alcohol.

"The room was not messy. No sign of an intense struggle was found," the South China Morning Post quoted Chan as saying.

The suspect was not fit to be questioned at this stage, he added.

also seized a 13cm-long knife at the scene, the Post reported earlier on Sunday.

A police source told the Post: "We are unclear at the moment whether... his wife and son were already dead by the time he called the friend."

The case came to light after the man called a friend in South Korea at about 7am, claiming that he and his family were about to commit suicide, the Post reported. His friend alerted South Korean police, who then notified the country's consulate in Hong Kong.

The police source said the South Korean family arrived in Hong Kong on Jan 6 and went to Macau, before returning to Hong Kong and checking into the hotel about four days ago.

The Ritz-Carlton is located on the top 15 floors of Hong Kong's tallest skyscraper - the International Commerce Centre -
in West Kowloon
and is famous for panoramic views of the city and its Victoria Harbour.

"Our thoughts are with the family of the guests involved at this very difficult time," a hotel spokesman in Hong Kong told AFP, declining to comment further as an investigation was ongoing.

In a separate incident, Hong Kong police are investigating the murder-suicide of a couple found dead at a public housing estate, local media reported.

Police found a 66-year-old man, surnamed Chan, on the podium of Lung Yat Estate in Tuen Mun. They later found Chan's wife, 63, in their flat, with knife wounds on her neck, the Post reported. A 20cm-long knife was found next to the woman in the 300 sq ft flat.

Chief inspector from Tuen Mun District, Yip Chun Man, was cited by the Post as saying: "According to our initial investigation... We believe the man had jumped from his open window in the flat." He added that both Chan and his wife had previous records of mental illness.