Apology after Hong Kong’s Social Welfare Department reveals leak of English-language names of 1,300 applicants for disability support scheme

About 1,300 English-language names of clients posted to internet after they were ‘improperly copied’ by contract staff member

Department insists no evidence that other details, such as ID card numbers, dates of birth or contact details, were released

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Details of about 1,300 clients of the Social Welfare Department were ‘improperly’ posted to the internet, officials have said. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:51pm, 9 Jan 2024Updated: 5:02pm, 9 Jan 2024

A Hong Kong government department on Tuesday apologised for an online leak of the English-language names of about 1,300 people who had applied for a disability subsidy scheme.

The Social Welfare Department said a contract staff member, who has since been fired, had “improperly copied” the Western-style names of applicants to the Special Care Subsidy Scheme of Persons with Severe Disabilities to the internet.

It said there was no evidence that identity card numbers, dates of birth or contact details of the people involved had been compromised.

The incident has been reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. Photo: Jelly Tse

“The [Social Welfare Department] expresses sincere apologies for the incident which has been reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data,” it said. “The [department] attaches great importance to safeguarding personal privacy.”

Officials added the department had already contacted the people affected to explain the incident.

The Special Care Subsidy Scheme for Persons with Severe Disabilities was designed to help people who did not qualify for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to pay expenses related to their care.