Discovery of skeleton in flat reveals plight of Hong Kong’s ‘hidden elderly’
Experts warn that older residents who live alone and have no family care need more timely support
Widow Law Wai-ho, 82, lives alone in Hong Kong and worries that no one will be there to help if anything happens to her. Law recalled her helplessness when she fell on the street and could not get up until a security guard arrived and took her to hospital, where she spent a week with no one by her side.
Law, who survives on government welfare allowances, said her son seldom visited her, while her daughter lived in the mainland Chinese city of Zhongshan with her own family.
“I spend most of the time alone at home. No one will even know if I’m dead,” said Law, who needs a walking stick to get around and suffers from angina, diabetes and high blood pressure. “It is pathetic.”
Experts and social workers warn that these older residents face mounting physical and mental health risks, and need more timely support, despite the government rolling out a raft of new services in the wake of a string of similar tragedies.
More than 188,000 people aged 65 and above live alone in Hong Kong, while about 396,000 older residents live with their spouse only, according to the 2021 population census.