Letters | Does Hong Kong need a Good Samaritan law?
Readers discuss what might deter people from assisting in emergencies, the use of English in the city, and the ban on surfing on public beaches
The commissioner of customs and excise said that disciplined service officers would offer help when they saw injustice and that courage was in their DNA. Whether people should provide immediate assistance in emergencies or refrain from intervention to avoid trouble depends on there being proper protection for “Good Samaritans”.
The United States and many countries in Europe have Good Samaritan laws. The first such law in the US was passed in California in 1959, exempting rescuers from liability and encouraging bystanders to assist the injured and ill.
While Hong Kong is yet to establish similar laws, mainland China already has such regulations. China’s civil code, which came into effect in 2021, continues to exempt rescuers from civil liability for damage caused by voluntary emergency assistance. Although the law clearly removes the possibility of rescuers being held responsible for gross negligence, it does not automatically legitimise emergency rescue actions, and consideration must be given to the rescuer’s subjective goodwill and the actual situation.