Street sleepers die as temperatures tumble
Two street sleepers were found dead in Ngau Tau Kok yesterday, the coldest December day in Hong Kong for 11 years.
And three old people suffering various illnesses died in hospital after being found unconscious in their homes in Kwun Tong, Wong Tai Sin and Ma On Shan.
The Centre for Health Protection reminded people, especially the old and chronically ill, to take care during cold weather.
A winter monsoon caused a sharp drop in temperatures across the city.
At the Obsersatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, the thermometer dropped to 5.8 degrees Celsius at 6am, the lowest December temperature since 1999 and the lowest this winter. In parts of the New Territories the temperature dropped below three Celsius before dawn.
Of the two street sleepers who died, one was a 58-year-old man found lying in a park in Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong. The other was a 66-year-old man who was found dead on the ground floor of Kai Lok House on the Kai Yip Estate in Kowloon Bay. The Social Welfare Department said it had offered help and counselling to the family of the latter.
'Our social workers had helped him apply for compassionate housing but he withdrew the application,' a spokesman said.
The spokesman said there were 388 registered street sleepers in November, down from 421 in the same month last year. The Home Affairs Department said 511 people moved into the 14 temporary government shelters on Thursday night.
Observatory senior scientific officer Tsui Kit-chi said the weather would remain chilly today. Temperatures are forecast to rise gradually to 22 degrees next week as the winter monsoon moderates.
