‘Someone to talk to’: Struggling elderly HK man shuns proper government flat for cramped ‘coffin home’ because it offers human company

An elderly Hong Kong man has revealed that he would rather live in a 15-square-foot “coffin home” than a larger public housing flat because “at least I have someone to talk to here”.

His distressing story has resonated online after a Hong Kong social enterprise operation that supports the employment of old people – Gingko House – posted his story on Facebook on February 3.