Hong Kong’s ombudsman has urged authorities to digitalise after-death arrangements and provide a one-stop online platform for the bereaved, as demand for such services in the city is expected to grow with an ageing population. Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi on Wednesday called on government agencies such as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Immigration Department, the Department of Health, and the Hospital Authority to collaborate to create a website for grieving residents to make after-death arrangements. These include digitising and simplifying the death registration processes and applying for mortuary services, cremation, and coffin burial services, he said.
Chan said that the platform could “significantly reduce” the pressure and emotional stress on the bereaved in dealing with the formalities of after-death arrangements. “The bereaved are already grieving, and the platform will reduce the need for them to personally go down to different government departments to handle the paperwork, which will double their pain during these difficult times,” he said. The watchdog cited an example of the Immigration Department’s website, which the watchdog said was challenging to navigate for those needing information on how to register deaths.
“Nine application forms relating to births and deaths registration and other services are available when they click on ‘Forms related to deaths registration’,” the ombudsman said in its report..
