Health & Community
Senior citizens protected by law
May 16, 2012
Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung has rejected calls for a dedicated laws against elderly abuse, saying Hong Kong already has sound legislation in place to protect all citizens, including seniors.He made the statement today, in response to legislators' questions on the jailing of an elderly care home staff member who abused a resident.
Since the incident, the Social Welfare Department has stepped up inspections and conducted investigations to prevent abuse in residential care homes for the elderly.
Mr Cheung said the Government has imposed various sanctions against the care home where the incident occurred, such as slashing the validity period of its licence from two years to six months.
It conducted 20 surprise inspections in 2010 to ensure improvements had been made.
He reiterated that Hong Kong already has sound legislation in place to protect all citizens, and the Government does not see the need to enact a dedicated legislation against elderly abuse.
