Hong Kong -  - A Hong Kong police officer assigned to an elite anti-gangster squad has been found dead after shooting himself with his handgun, news reports said Saturday.

Yau Chak-ping, 39, who worked for the organized crime and triad unit, was found unconscious by his wife Friday. He was lying on the floor of his study with his gun next to him, had a gunshot wound to his chest and was confirmed dead at hospital.

Police said Saturday that investigations into his death were ongoing, but news reports said Yau had shot himself and was the second police officer to kill himself in nine days.

On November 19, constable Ma Chun-pong, 29, and his grandmother, 82, killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact by burning charcoal in their apartment.

Four police officers have killed themselves this year, prompting calls from the police union to investigate the level of stress faced by front-line officers.

Last month, an inquest into the July death of a senior officer who killed himself with his service handgun heard the officer had been overwhelmed by his workload.

Experts at a seminar on suicide prevention in October claimed police officers were more at risk of suicide because they are trained to solve problems themselves and are less likely to seek help. (dpa)