Elderly alone & unnoticed: TKO death highlights need for smarter elderly care

A death tragedy in Tseung Kwan O has reignited concerns over how Hong Kong looks after its ageing population.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun says smarter elderly tech will be deployed to identify higher-risk elderly people living alone or elderly-only households.

A 76-year-old woman who lived alone in Tseung Kwan O was found dead in her flat earlier, and her body was only discovered after it had already started to decompose.

The welfare chief says authorities will cross-check databases from the Social Welfare Department, Hospital Authority and Housing Authority to identify the high-risk groups.

The care teams have visited around 5,000 public housing tenants with around 400 cases referred to welfare groups for follow-ups.

Sun also said technologies could be considered for monitoring, such as checks on the movement frequency of refrigerator doors.