Hong Kong to install door sensors for elderly in pilot scheme targeting safety

Some elderly residents in two Hong Kong public housing estates will have door sensors installed in their flats as part of a pilot scheme that aims to provide alerts to family members when their loved ones may be in distress.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin announced the initiative on Sunday after a 78-year-old man was found dead last week with his 44-year-old mentally disabled son unharmed next to him at their public rental flat in Tuen Mun.

Ho said the sensors would record the number of times tenants opened their doors. Family members would be alerted when no door movement was detected within a specific time frame, which could be set by users according to their needs.

The housing minister shrugged off privacy concerns.

“We cannot see anything or any movement inside the flat. It is not a camera. We are just recording the door contact,” she told a radio show.

Ho added that the alerts would be sent to family members, rather than estate management.