Hong Kong a sick society

Another family tragedy in which three family members died and another was seriously injured in their Shau Kei Wan home on Friday should alert Hong Kong society to the social problems that have sickened our society, and hopefully prompt more actions to tackle these problems.

A series of unimaginable family tragedies have stunned the city over the past few months. Earlier this month, a 60-year-old man jumped to his death after seriously injuring his wife following a quarrel. In March, a 29-year-old unemployed man murdered his parents after failing to get more financial assistance from them; in another shocking tragedy the same month, an 18-year-old teen stabbed his father to death and seriously injured his mother after noise nuisance trigged a quarrel at midnight.

Relationship problems, family discord or matrimonial disputes have been much talked about as the culprit of these tragedies, with little attention having been paid to the sad fact that Hong Kong society has fallen sick.

A report of The Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey 2010-2013, the first territory-wide mental health study commissioned by the Food and Health Bureau, reveals that 14.5 percent of the 2,500 respondents aged between 16 and 75 have significant levels of neurotic symptoms. Another survey commissioned by the Organising Committee of the Mental Health Month last year, shows that one-in-three people in Hong Kong failed to reach the median score on the mental well-being indicator.

With so many people living a mentally unhealthy life, any discord or dispute which emerges in a family can trigger a tragedy. The high prevalence of mental imbalance finds its root cause in Hong Kong people's stressful lives, with work and financial pressure allied to poor living conditions, in a highly competitive environment beset by limited living space.

The ultimate remedy for a sick Hong Kong society is not to recruit more psychiatrists or social workers. Instead, Hong Kong people need a bigger and more diversified economy, a more equal society and more living space.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 07/27/2013 page6)