Hong Kong welfare authorities may expand the definition of “high-risk carer” and look into providing more direct help to needy families after a three-year-old girl was found crying alone next to the body of her 40-year-old mother who was suspected to have died days earlier.
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Undersecretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming said on Saturday the deceased woman was not considered a high-risk carer, a category more commonly associated with older individuals caring for other elderly or people with disabilities.
“This is an isolated and heartbreaking case … The mother was in her prime and caring for a child while other family members lived nearby,” Ho said. “Of course, we will review whether to list such cases as high-risk in the future.”
Neighbours became alarmed upon hearing the girl’s cries from her public housing flat at Lok Wah North Estate in Kwun Tong on Friday, a source told the Post earlier.
They contacted estate staff for help, and the Housing Department called the girl’s grandmother to help open the door, the insider said.
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An initial examination showed the mother, who reportedly had a medical history of asthma, had died on her bed four days earlier.