‘Despicable and offensive’: John Lee condemns alleged sexual assaults at Hong Kong care home

City leader also urges welfare authorities to ensure effective supervision to prevent such crimes

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Chief Executive John Lee has described the alleged sexual assaults at a care home for people with disabilities as “despicable”. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 3:13pm, 29 Oct 2024Updated: 9:55pm, 29 Oct 2024

Hong Kong’s leader has condemned the alleged sexual assaults of two residents of a care home serving people with disabilities as “despicable”, urging welfare authorities to ensure effective supervision at such institutions to prevent transgressions.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday also said a thorough police investigation should be launched into the case and called on the Social Welfare Department to make sure such centres abided by the code of practice and their licence requirements.

He required the operator of the care home involved to submit an independent review report as soon as possible to make recommendations and implement improvement measures.

“These crimes are despicable and offensive,” Lee said before his weekly meeting with the Executive Council, a key decision-making body.

“We should prevent any of these illegal and bad behaviours from happening. We should have an effective management measure. We hope that all these incidents can be prevented and if something unfortunate happens, we will know and deal with it immediately.”

The remarks were prompted by the recent arrest of a care home staff member for allegedly raping a woman and sexually assaulting a man in August at the Hong Chi Pinehill Integrated Vocational Training Centre Kwong Fuk Hostel, a site run by the Hong Chi Association, the city’s largest NGO supporting people with mental disabilities.