Fatally freakish: violent crime deaths in Hong Kong dwarfed by ‘worrying’ toll in city workplaces and demise by bizarre accident
- City is one of safest in world in terms of crime but ranks much lower when it comes to workplace deaths and freakish accidents
- Last year, Hong Kong endured, on average, 9 construction site accidents a day, resulting in 2 deaths a month
Hong Kong has a long-established reputation as one of the safest cities in the world when it comes to crime.
While you might be robbed online – romance and phishing scams are on the rise – the risk of becoming the victim of an actual robbery or violent crime is low.
In 2021, there were 23 homicides in Hong Kong which has a population of 7.4 million. In London, which has a population of 8.9 million, 124 homicides were recorded between April 2021 and March 2022.
According to a 2021 Safe Cities Index produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Copenhagen ranked first, Toronto was second and Singapore came third. Hong Kong came a creditable eighth.
However, when it comes to workplace safety and freak accidents, it is a different story.
Hong Kong’s safety statistics in this regard are grim, especially in the construction industry. Last year, there were 3,109 industrial accidents in which a total of 23 people were killed.
