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  • Walter's Blog.
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • About Walter
    • 1980 Joining Up - Grafton Street >
      • Arrival and First Impressions
      • First Week
      • Training
      • Passing Out
    • Yaumati Cowboy >
      • Getting on the Streets
      • Tempo of the City
      • Jumpers, pill poppers and the indoor BBQ
      • Into a Minefield.
    • Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon? >
      • Baptism By Fire
      • Kai Tak with Mrs Thatcher.
      • Home; The Boy Returns
  • 1984 - 1986
    • PTU Instructor & Getting Hitched
    • Having a go: SDU
    • Starting a Chernobyl family
    • EOD - Don't touch anything
    • Semen Stains and the rules
  • 1987 to 1992 - Should I Stay or Go?
    • Blue Lights, Sirens & Grenades
    • Drugs, Broken Kids & A Plane Crash
    • 600 Happy Meals Please!
    • Hong Kong's Best Insurance
    • Riding the Iron Horse
  • Crime in Hong Kong
    • Falling Crime Rates - Why?
    • Triads
  • History of Hong Kong Policing
    • History 1841 to 1941
    • History 1945 to 1967
    • Anatomy of the 50 cent Riot - 1966
    • The Fall of a Commissioner.
    • History 1967 to 1980
    • Three Wise Men from the West
    • The Blue Berets.
    • The African Korps and other tribes.
    • Getting About - Transport.
    • A Pub in every station
    • Bullshit Bingo & Meetings
    • Godber - The one who nearly got away.
    • Uncle Ho
  • Top 20 Films
    • 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
    • The Godfather.
    • Blade Runner
    • Kes
    • Star Wars
    • Aliens
    • Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    • The Life of Brian
    • Dr Strangelove.
    • Infernal Affairs
    • Bridge on the River Kwai.
    • This Is Spinal Tap.
    • Chung King Express
    • An Officer and a Gentleman
    • PTU
    • Contact
    • Saving Private Ryan
    • Family Guy Star Wars
    • Zulu
    • Hard Day's Night
  • The Long Read
    • How The Walls Come Down
    • War in Ukraine - the narrative and other stuff.
    • The Hidden Leader
    • The Big Game
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Walter's Blog

"But how can you live and have no story to tell?" Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Reflections on recent events, plus the occasional fact free rant unfiltered by rational argument. 

"If you want to read a blog to get a sense of what is going on in Hong Kong these days or a blog that would tell you wh at life was like living in colonial Hong Kong, this blog, WALTER'S BLOG, fits the bill."  Hong Kong Blog Review

9/9/2022 0 Comments

Knowing When To Go.

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"The ending a life by whatever means is always an emotive subject"
High Court judge Albert Wong Sung-hau is a wise and compassionate man. Sentencing a retired electrician to one-year’s probation for killing his terminal-ill wife was the right thing to do. 
​

The wife had late-stage lung cancer, and the husband agreed to assist in relieving her pain, allowing her to pass peacefully at a time of her choosing. She consented to her husband placing a tray of burning charcoal in her bedroom after she fell asleep. The husband was initially charged with murder, but this was later changed to a lesser indictment of manslaughter. 

The judge rightly acknowledged that the husband acted unlawfully yet reduced the punishment to the minimum possible without suggesting the court endorsed euthanasia.  

Such mercy killing or assisted suicide is a controversial topic. Yet, having recently witnessed my father quickly slide from a strong redoubtable individual to a distraught bedridden soul, I can understand the powerful sentiments the matter evokes. As a family, we wished for nothing less than his full recovery, an option that became less likely with time. 

Dad sought a dignified exit, not an ending marked by tubes, adult diapers and crippling brain fog. But, as a blessing for him, the end came quick enough. He didn’t suffer too long.

The ending of a life by whatever means is always an emotive subject, especially for family and friends. And yet, if we accord people true dignity in their final days, surely an option should be there to pick your moment, significantly when the quality of life is severely eroded.

In my Dad’s case, we were briefed on the ‘do not resuscitate’ process, a decision that rests with the medical professionals. The appearance of Macmillan Nurses to make sure Dad was comfortable heralded the final stage. They took charge of his care, displaying an empathic but no nonsense approach that gave reassurance. We were glad to be in their hands.

Whether Hong Kong can move toward a sensible, balanced approach to this issue remains to be seen. We have the longest life expectancy on the planet, yet quality of life remains an issue for many as chronic ailments blight their final years. 

What is evident is that the actions of Judge Wong demonstrate it is possible to steer a balanced course. So enacting such a process in law, shouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility.
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    Walter De Havilland was one of the last of the colonial coppers. He served 35 years in the Royal Hong Kong Police and Hong Kong Police Force. He's long retired. 

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