Paralympics double gold medallist Ho Yuen-kei on Friday said she hopes to raise public awareness of people with special needs, after a Thai restaurant refused to admit her because of her wheelchair. Speaking on an RTHK programme, the boccia player said she was refused entry to a Causeway Bay restaurant, with the staff saying her wheelchair could block other diners. Ho said attitudes towards the disabled had improved over the past decade, but more needs to be done. "Can there be more training for staff to improve awareness? Not just for wheelchair users, but restaurants may also think of how to help those who are visually impaired," she said. "We understand that there may be difficulties - especially for small shops in Hong Kong - but we can work together. For example, some small restaurants have ramps for people with disabilities or wheelchair users." Simon Wong, head of the Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the incident was not common, but it showed that some restaurants may not be familiar with the city's anti-discrimination legislation. "Most restaurants have training for their staff, but some small-scale ones may have overlooked [this] during the training process. We hope the catering sector and the government could do more promotion," he told the same programme. Ho said the Thai restaurant’s manager apologised to her and she accepted the apology.
