Hong's Kong's lack of affordable housing fuels 'McSleeper' trend, where the homeless sleep at McDonald's
'McSleepers' becoming alarming trend due to government inaction, social worker says
McDonald's - the culinary refuge for hungry Hongkongers who don't have time to think about food - is turning into the shelter of choice for the city's homeless.
The Sunday Morning Post visited 20 of the 123 24-hour McDonald's in the city and found people who have come to be known as McRefugees or McSleepers in 17 restaurants.
READ MORE: The lonely life of the McSleepers, the poor who call McDonald's home
The phenomenon of the fast-food refugees was highlighted by the tragedy of a middle-aged woman who sat slumped at a table for hours before anyone noticed she was dead.
While there is no formal data, veteran social worker Ng Wai-tung of the Society for Community Organisation (Soco) described McDonald's as the "new street for the street sleepers", saying it was an alarming trend.
"With the number of 24-hour McDonald's growing, we've also seen an increasing amount in these places since we first spotted such McRefugees 16 years ago … yes, it's worrisome, especially when the government doesn't seem to face the problem."
The Post's checks across 20 24-hour McDonald's in mostly city-centre locations counted 106 people spending at least parts of their night sleeping in them.
The Market Street McDonald's in Tsuen Wan had the most, with 15 people sleeping inside at 3.30am, when the Post visited, with an employee at the branch saying it had an average of 10 regular sleepers.