Most suffer in silence

While these various forms of legal protection are slowly becoming available, experts say they are underused as people are generally ignorant about them due to insufficient publicity.In 2010, social workers in Hong Kong received more than 2,185 requests for help from elderly people. Of these, 1,182 involved assets being stolen, up 40 percent compared to 2009.Anita Wong, elderly services director of the Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club, says more than half of elderly abuse cases involve victims suffering from mental deterioration.“There is a lot of financial abuse. Many of the elderly have dementia, so they don’t know how to manage their money. UGG Boots Outlet If they have money, it is easy to be abused or have their money spent by their children,” said Wong.“We are now handling a few such cases. One involves a daughter removing HK$70,000 (US$9,000) from the mother’s account over the last three years. We only found out when the mother complained incessantly to us,” she said.Much of the abuse, she said, is perpetrated by family members.The problem will worsen with rising prevalence of dementia. Alzheimer’s Disease International estimated there were 35.6 million people living with dementia worldwide in 2010 and that will increase to 65.7 million by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050.Some argue for specific laws to protect the elderly, much like laws to protect children and animals from neglect, mental and physical abuse. This is critical because in Asia, people are reluctant to even acknowledge discord within the family, let alone report abuse of any kind.“Old people will not tell when their children bully them or cheat them of their money because they don’t want their relatives and neighbours to laugh at them,” said Lam.“Those who sue their sons and daughters in civil suits are very rare and they only do so because they have lost a property that gives them access to monthly income.”But Wong believes it will be hard to alter behaviours that have lasted so long.“It is taboo to leak such matters out of the home, they feel embarrassed. They are anxious that if it comes to light, their children may be thrown in jail, so they won’t report the matter. Even if others report the matter, they will not bear witness. So a lot of such problems are swept under the carpet,” she said.“Without a law now, the elderly may still make some noise and hope you will help them. But once there is a law, we must take legal action and their children risk going to jail. So old people would be even more afraid to complain.”