Couple in Hong Kong village home shocked to find king cobra on computer desk

A couple received a scare at their village home in Hong Kong’s Sha Tin on Monday when a highly venomous king cobra snake was spotted on their computer desk.

A snake catcher collected the reptile, which was about a metre (3.3 feet) long, and it would be released back into the wild, according to a police spokesman.

The force said it received a report at 1.41am that the snake had entered the house on To Shek Street.

The male resident of the flat shared what he called a horrifying experience on the social media platform Threads, saying his girlfriend was shocked when she spotted the snake on the computer desk behind some cables right before going to bed.

He said he called police and they waited for about 45 minutes for the snake catcher to arrive.

Snake handler Ivan Li Yat-long, who was not involved in the capture on Monday, said it was rare to see a king cobra sneak into a house.