Man from Pakistan spent almost 20 years unaware how sick he was – because he didn’t realise Hong Kong public hospitals provide interpreters

For almost two decades, Ali (not his real name) was never clear about how ill he was or how he had been treated, despite regular follow-ups in hospitals.

An Urdu-speaker with little English or Chinese, the security guard, 44, was unaware Hong Kong’s public hospitals provide interpretation services for free.