‘Tip of the iceberg’: spate of Hong Kong murder-suicide tragedies sparks calls for early detection of high-risk families
- Lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen voices concerns that case of woman who allegedly killed herself and her son with mental disabilities just tip of iceberg
- Clearer grasp of number of families in need will allow authorities to better allocate resources, group says
Authorities should take steps to earlier identify high-risk families with members who have mental disabilities and assign case managers to support them, social welfare leaders in Hong Kong have said, following a spate of tragedies involving murder-suicides that one lawmaker calls the tip of the iceberg.
A woman, 58, and her 32-year-old son with mental disabilities were found dead on Monday at their home in Kwai Fong Estate, in a suspected murder-suicide case.
A source said the mother was believed to have killed herself and her son over concerns she could not care for him due to her own illness.
Social welfare sector lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said on Monday the government should be more proactive in identifying high-risk families with members who had disabilities and were already in the system, as he voiced concerns the latest case was just the tip of the iceberg.
He said healthcare professionals could ask patients a few more questions while taking in new cases to detect any potential high-risk families, adding patients with disabilities tended to visit doctors more regularly than others.
“For example, they can ask patients: who takes care of them, whether they are the carers, their age or how many people they need to take care of,” Tik said. “Just a few questions can allow one to know whether it is a high-risk family or a carer.”
