On the eve of the winter solstice (22nd) this year, an elderly man suffering from dementia ran away from home with a cane. The family was worried, and then contacted KMB for help.
About 3 hours later, the old man boarded the KMB in Tsuen Wan. Since his family had provided his Octopus number, the staff immediately knew that the old man was a missing person. The bus inspector William Zhang rushed to the scene to stop the bus. The family was able to reunite for the winter. .
He bluntly said that he feels especially deeply about helping others on the eve of the winter solstice. "As the winter solstice approaches and the end of the year approaches, I really want to help people reunite with their families as much as possible. This is very happy."
In fact, KMB has launched the relevant tracing system for about three years. In December this year, the missing elder was successfully found for the first time, and two families were reunited successively.
Director of KMB Communications and Public Affairs Department Jian Xueying said that the system is aimed at 65-year-old elders with dementia. Once they get lost, their family members can provide their Octopus numbers. After KMB registers with the central system, as long as the elderly are on KMB Using the Octopus, the device on the bus will immediately send out an alarm and notify the KMB logistics staff to assist family members in tracing.
In October 2019, KMB upgraded its system to use Octopus cards to help find missing elders. As long as family members find that elderly people aged 65 or above and suffering from dementia are lost, they can provide KMB with the Octopus card number. KMB will Enter the data into the central system and connect to the fare collectors of the entire fleet. When the lost elder boards the bus and taps his card, the device on the bus will sound an alarm and light up a red light. At the same time, the KMB logistics staff will also receive relevant text messages.
In 2019, KMB upgraded the system and used Octopus cards to assist in the recovery of missing elders.
(Photo by Huang Weilun)
81-year-old man missing for three days was found while riding KMB
The system has been launched for about three years. In December this year, the lost elder was successfully found for the first time, and two elders were reunited with their families successively.
The first case was 81-year-old Uncle Wang (pseudonym). He disappeared after leaving his home in Fung Tak Village at about 3:30 pm on December 15. His son contacted KMB three days later and provided his Octopus number.
About 4 hours later, Uncle Wang boarded the 3D bus bound for Kwun Tong at Tsz Wan Shan, and immediately triggered the system on the bus.
Jian Xuexuan said that under normal circumstances, in order not to affect the normal bus service, unless there is an urgent need, the bus will continue to run after the missing elder is found, and the field bus inspector or station master will come to the scene to assist.
In this case, when the bus arrived at the terminus, the bus captain arranged for Uncle Wang to wait in the station master's office, while the bus service inspector, Chen Jiahao, rushed to the scene to take care of him.
Chen Jiahao said that after Uncle Wang got in the car that day, he sat in the seat.
(Photo by Huang Weilun)
Chen Jiahao recalled that since Uncle Wang had been missing for three days, he was not in good spirits, "couldn't express himself very much", and even "didn't respond to asking the canal to drink water", so he had to stay by his side all the time.
About an hour later, Uncle Wang's son came to the scene to meet him. Chen was very touched by this, "I am always happy when I find lost things."
71-year-old man with dementia hides from family
As for the second case, 71-year-old Uncle Zeng suffers from early-stage dementia and diabetes, and walked in and out with a cane.
At about 6 pm on December 21, Uncle Zeng lost contact after boarding a bus bound for Kwai Chung in Ma On Shan. About 1.5 hours later, his family asked KMB for help.
At about 10:25 p.m., Uncle Zeng boarded the bus No. 49X to Kwong Yuen Estate, Sha Tin on Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan.
Zhang Weilian recalled that after the 49X line passed Yangwu Road, there were only two stations left in Tsuen Wan District, and then went to the city tunnel interchange station, so considering the actual situation, he rushed to Luyang New Village, the last one in Tsuen Wan District stand.
He said that when he arrived at the scene, the bus hadn't left yet, and he successfully stopped and got on the bus. At that time, Uncle Zeng was sitting in the care seat, so he went up to inquire. After a round of lobbying, he was willing to get off the bus together.
Zhang Weilian described that Uncle Zeng was very talkative, "not the unresponsive type". He even knew that he could take a bus back to Ma'anshan via the city tunnel interchange station, but he refused to "report his safety" to his family.
While waiting for Uncle Zeng's family to arrive, the two kept talking. Uncle Zeng mentioned that he used to like to play around, but after he discovered that he had dementia, the family members were not allowed to go out without permission.
During the conversation, he also revealed that when he left home to play mahjong that day, he deliberately turned off the phone, "I don't want her (daughter) to find me."
The vehicle inspector is grateful for the successful search on the eve of the winter solstice
Finally, at about 11:22 p.m., the worried daughter of Uncle Zeng arrived and successfully reunited with her father before the winter solstice.
Zhang Weilian, who has worked for KMB for more than ten years, said that this experience is quite unforgettable, especially helping others on the eve of the winter solstice. "It is near the winter solstice and the end of the year. I really want to help people reunite with their families as much as possible. It is very happy." .
Jian Xueying (first from the right) said that if the family members can provide the Octopus card number, the chances of finding it can be improved.
(Photo by Huang Weilun)
Jian Xuejuan said that this year, KMB received an average of 15 cases of assistance in finding missing elders every month, and only 45% of the family members provided Octopus information to help in tracing.
He continued that if the number can be provided, the chances of recovery can be improved.
In addition, in addition to using the above-mentioned system, KMB will also publish missing person notices on the mobile application.
Jian Xuexuan said that in the future, he hopes to use the system to cooperate with the police in finding lost elders.
In addition, since the current Octopus has a negative balance, the system cannot be activated. He said that he would study how to improve it.
If an elderly person is lost and needs assistance, KMB said that they can call the customer service hotline at 27454466, press "8" after selecting the language, and someone will contact them; or use the interactive chat function of the KMB app.
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