Too old to work, too poor to retire: jailing of security guard, 73, exposes the plight of Hong Kong's elderly

An octogenarian who works as a cleaner despite receiving a head injury last year, and a 73-year-old security guard who faked his age to continue working - two examples of elderly Hongkongers denied their retirement by the need to make ends meet.

The security guard, Shih Chiao-jen, was jailed for four months last month for using a false identity card to claim he was 11 years younger, a case which shone a light on the lack of retirement protection in the city.

"If I work, I earn a few dollars. If I don't work, I use those dollars without replacing them," said the cleaner, Wong Siu-ying, 85. Wong previously held a job handing out fliers on the street until she fell and injured her head last year. Now she takes the odd cleaning job while hoping to find something more regular.

"I'll do anything. If I don't, I won't even be able to pay the rent," she said.

In her spare time, Wong collects cardboard and rubbish to sell in an effort to make a few extra dollars. She says she sometimes travels from her home in Choi Hung to as far as Sha Tin or Ma On Shan to collect cardboard.

"It's HK$4 to get there and back, but the stuff is worth over HK$10. You can't choose how much you earn - you can only try to earn something," she said.

Wong is not on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance - a means-tested supplement for those whose income is not sufficient to meet basic needs - but does receive HK$2,285 a month in Old Age Living Allowance.