Three staff members arrested at Hong Kong care home over allegations of abuse
Four members of staff at Harmony Manor care home were suspended after allegations surfaced of sticky tape being applied and torn off an autistic resident’s nipples
Police have arrested three staff members of a care home over allegations of abusing residents suffering from autism.
Two women, aged 23 and 28, and a 24-year-old man were detained by police on Wednesday.
Earlier, a parent who called a radio talk show said staff had previously failed to respond to complaints.
The man, whose autistic son lives in Harmony Manor care home in Sha Tin, described finding multiple scratches and bruises on his son’s face and body, which no member of staff reported to him.
He complained to a member of staff at the care home and wrote a letter to the head of the institute, asking them to investigate his child’s injuries, but said he received no replies.
One of the patients, who suffers from a severe form of the brain disorder, is alleged to have been forced to endure sticky tape being applied and then torn off his nipples.
The allegations were made by members of staff at the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council-run centre and a report was made to the police.
Another caller to the show, who claimed to have previously worked part-time at the home, said that other members of staff did not treat residents well.
“They sometimes verbally insulted the residents and sometimes bent their legs forcefully, when the residents – some with serious intellectual disabilities – could not move to co-operate with them,” the woman, surnamed Chan, said.
Psychiatrist Dr Tsang Fan-kwong, who chairs the executive committee of the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council, said the care home had launched an investigation into the allegations shortly before the cases were reported to the police.
Tsang also pledged that the council would look at ways to improve services at the care home.
