Neighbours, security guards and kindergartens can play a bigger role to help look out for vulnerable single-parent families in Hong Kong amid restricted information sharing under a privacy law, observers have said, after the recent discovery of a three-year-old girl alone at home with her mother’s dead body.

“In this incident, neighbours played a pivotal role. After all, compared with organisations, people have more regular contact with one another, [whether it’s] bumping into each other or exchanging simple greetings,” Kwun Tong district councillor Lee Ka-hang told a radio programme on Monday.

“If neighbours hear children repeatedly crying, they can tell the Housing Department about their observations so everyone can be more alert,” he said, adding that the information neighbours shared could be very helpful in supporting families in need.

“When security guards make their rounds in the building, they can also pay attention to what arguments are about, if they hear any, and whether they are persistent. Would these be worth taking note of, with the information shared with relevant organisations? These are ways that could be helpful to the matter.”

Speaking on the same radio show, lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu of the Federation of Trade Unions said special care should be given to single-parent families, as it was very challenging looking after young children, especially those still in kindergarten aged six or under.