Tai Po fire: 1-year mental support scheme launched for bereaved families

HONG KONG – The Advisory Committee on Mental Health on Thursday launched a one-year support program for the families bereaved by the Tai Po fire.

In the initial stage, participating organizations include Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council, the Comfort Care Concern Group, and the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong. The organizations will actively reach out to the bereaved families to provide services.

The devastating fire at Wang Fuk Court, which originated on Nov 26, tore through seven out of eight buildings of the housing complex and took 43 hours to be fully doused, leaving at least 160 people dead.

Dovetailing with the "one social worker per household" service of the Social Welfare Department, the program provides free mental health support services, including grief and bereavement counselling for the bereaved, and refers them to clinical psychologists and psychiatrists for follow-up services as required, based on mental health risk assessments, with a view to accompanying them through the pain of loss.

The Hospital Authority will train the staff of the relevant social service organizations by enhancing their knowledge of and skills in responding to reactions and stress brought about by disasters.

“We fully understand the profound pain and loss caused by the disaster. The Compassionate Support Programme for Bereaved Families will pool strengths from different sectors to provide psychological support for bereaved families affected by the disaster in a timely manner and to journey with them through this difficult time,” said Chairman of the ACMH Dr Lam Ching-choi.

Legal proceedings to get priority

The Judiciary has announced that all potential legal proceedings related to the fire will be handled with priority and expeditiously through a series of facilitative measures with an aim to offering support to individuals affected by the deadly fire.

In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the Judiciary announced that a dedicated task group – headed by the Chief Judge of the High Court and comprising relevant court leaders and specialist judges – will be set up to ensure the swift handling of legal proceedings related to the fire at all court levels, without unduly compromising the administration of justice.

The Judiciary will designate a team of support staff for handling probate-related matters relating to the deceased victims of the fire.

“The team will liaise with the relevant government departments to disseminate essential information on probate-related matters to affected families,” reads the statement. A special hotline at 2840 1683 is in operation to answer enquiries on probate-related and other matters associated with the incident.

Besides waiving probate-related scheduled fees relating to the deceased victims, the Judiciary will also consider fee concessions for other court services.

The processing of coroner-related matters, including the issue of Certificates of the Fact of Death, will also be expedited.

The Legal Aid Department, meanwhile, said it aims to handle litigation and related matters about personal injury claims, property damage claims and employees’ compensation claims.

Specifically, the LAD has coordinated with the Social Welfare Department to leverage the “one social worker per household” service to disseminate information on legal aid, such as details on the scope of the legal aid, application procedures and eligibility criteria.

It has established telephone hotlines (2867 4516 or 2399 2277) to address enquiries from the affected citizens about legal aid.

“The Legal Aid Department will streamline application procedures and deploy staff to expedite processing of legal aid applications, so as to ensure that eligible residents and other affected persons can obtain legal aid as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.

Taking into account the burden and needs of the affected citizens, the department will separately arrange legal representatives to handle their litigation upon approval of their legal aid applications.

“In this regard, the Legal Aid Department reminds residents and other affected persons intending to apply for legal aid not to arrange their own legal representation, or give instructions or signing authorization documents for legal services, so as to avoid incurring unnecessary costs and safeguard their own interests,” it added.