Wallis Wang

The tragic deaths of a 60-year-old security guard and his 82-year-old bedridden mother inside their Kwun Tong flat have highlighted the lack of emergency care and support for families in need, according to Crystal Yuen Shuk-yan, a community organizer from the Society for Community Organization.

The son, who apparently died in an accident at home in Cheung On Mansion on Shui Wo Street, had been caring for his mother, who suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes. His mother is understood to have passed away due to lack of care.

The latest hidden carer tragedy occurred almost a year after the SAR saw the death of two brothers with an intellectual deficiency in Sau Mau Ping in September last year. Authorities have vowed to enhance protection for families in need and launched a hotline for carers.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the mother and son had been receiving the government's comprehensive social security assistance.

He added that government staff had last visited the family in November last year, but the pair did not request any additional support at the time.

Sun also said the government had launched a pilot scheme in the Southern and Tsuen Wan districts in April which involved visiting 3,000 elderly families and providing subsidies to 100 of them to use the emergency alarm system.

Yuen said the Hong Kong government lacks the capability to proactively identify families in need.

While authorities have increased the quota for respite services over the past year, many caregivers are unaware of these services or do not know how to access them.

Yuen urged the government to establish a database to quickly identify high-risk families and provide them with necessary support.

"Families of elderly doubletons are facing higher risks because the caregivers in these families are also old with poor health. They may be chronically ill patients themselves but still have to care for an even weaker family member," she said.

Yuen added she has seen cases where carers were in worse health condition and died earlier than the family member they were taking care of.

Social worker Sumly Chan Yuen-sum urged the government to allocate more resources to support the carers of families in need by sending more social workers to assist them, conducting regular family visits and making regular phone calls to check their situation.

Neighbors of elderly families and security guards of their buildings could also pay more attention to their situation, Chan said. If the elder family hasn't shown up for a while, neighbors could knock on their doors to avoid such tragedies.

Kwun Tong district councilor Wilson Or Chong-shing, who is also a member of the local care team, said the mother and son were not being monitored by the team and had never sought their help.

He said the densely populated Shui Wo Street area makes it difficult for the care team to discover hidden families in need.

"We should use the database to discover, support and care for elderly residents in need," he said. "But right now we have to seek the elderly's consent before including their information in the database due to privacy regulations."

Neighbors of the mother and son said no one ever visited the family.

"I saw the two going outside sometimes and the son always took care of his mom. But I never saw people visit them," a neighbor, Yip, said.

"The mother walked slowly and it was hard for her to go up and down stairs," he added.

Another neighbor, Cheung, added the son usually left for work at 7am and returned to the flat at 5pm.

The flat of the mother and son was still sealed off as of yesterday, with chains locking the door. A machine reciting Buddhist scriptures was hung on the door.

The tragedy emerged after the landlord of the apartment failed to contact the mother and found the son lying on the ground with his body against the door on Wednesday. The landlord then called the police and both were found dead.

Police are still investigating the cause of the deaths, as there was no evidence of suicide.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com

Cheung On Mansion Sing Tao

The flat where the mother and son lived.

Police investigate the flat.

Mom, son deaths highlight 'lack of emergency care'