More than 90 per cent of children living in Hong Kong’s subdivided flats are showing back issues. Photo: Eugene LeeA survey has found that more than 90 per cent of children living in Hong Kong’s subdivided flats show signs of backbone problems. The main issue was that the children did not have proper desks. They had to do their homework on surfaces such as beds and chairs, the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) said.
The government provides some services for these students. They are allowed to stay behind at school to do homework, and they can access community living rooms. However, SoCO deputy director Sze Lai-shan said these measures were not enough to meet the needs of the 50,000 children in subdivided flats.
The survey performed spinal checks on 234 children living in these flats. About 93 per cent of them – or 219 – had mild to serious issues. Around 108 of them were classified as serious.
SoCO has called for more public flats to be built to cut the waiting time for housing. The current wait time stands at about 5.5 years. SoCO also wants to improve the transitional housing policy and prioritise public flats for families with young children.
They also recommended implementing a cash allowance trial scheme for those in line for permanent public housing.