Hong Kong urged to use technology to identify, support at-risk elderly residents

Hong Kong lawmakers are calling for the expansion of pilot schemes to identify and support elderly residents living alone or with a spouse in older neighbourhoods, following two recent cases in which skeletal remains were found in public flats in Kwai Tsing.

Some legislators on Thursday highlighted gaps in the city’s social safety net for high-risk elderly people, urging the government to expand the support programmes as soon as possible to cover more needy residents, with priority given to ageing districts.

On Wednesday, the skeletal remains of a 77-year-old woman were found in her home in Shing Yat House in Kwai Shing East Estate – the second such discovery in three months in a public flat in Kwai Tsing district. Investigators reportedly found sales receipts in the flat dating back to November 2023, with none bearing later dates.

In May, police received a report from a Housing Department employee who found the remains of an 83-year-old man in a flat at Shek Lei (I) Estate.

Last month, the Social Welfare Department launched a pilot scheme in Kwun Tong and Sha Tin – the two districts with the highest number of older people.

It utilises its elderly case data and Housing Department household information to identify older residents living alone or with their spouse, and carers looking after elderly and disabled people, in public housing estates.