Luna Wong was a creative and inquisitive teenager from Hong Kong who developed depression, anxiety, and ADHD following years of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic and political unrest in her city. She was prescribed multiple medications including antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and anti-psychotic medications, which she struggled with due to side effects. Despite her mental health challenges, Luna remained intellectually curious and harbored dreams of becoming a psychologist.
In 2022, at age 16, Luna decided to pursue A-levels in the United Kingdom as a way to make a fresh start and access subjects not available in Hong Kong. Her parents consulted with her psychiatrist before agreeing to the move, and they informed Wrekin College, a boarding school in Shropshire, about her mental health history. Her mother spent many sleepless nights worrying about her daughter abroad, but ultimately supported what she saw as an important step in Luna’s development and independence.
Luna struggled significantly with the adjustment to boarding school life. In July 2023, while attending a summer school program in London, she took her own life. Her death occurred roughly three years before this reporting.
Luna’s parents, Thomas Wong and Hilda Leong, reflect on their daughter’s brief life with deep grief. They had waited 14 years to conceive her and named her Lok Tung, meaning “happy child,” a name that suited her for most of her early years. Her death has prompted broader questions about the private education industry’s reliance on international student fees and the adequacy of mental health support systems in place for vulnerable young people studying far from home. The case highlights tensions between financial incentives and the care obligations institutions carry toward international students in their charge.
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