McDonald's: Homeless people dubbed 'McRefugees' sleep in fast food chain's 24-hour restaurants in Hong Kong

A woman who remained in one of the outlets for 24 hours was later discovered to have died

The woman was found in a branch of McDonald's in Hong Kong (Reuters)

Homeless people have been seeking refuge - and even sleeping - at branches of McDonald's in Hong Kong.

The revelations about the so-called 'McRefugees' come after a woman was discovered to have died at one of the fast food branches.

She was assumed to be sleeping at her table at the outlet in Kowloon Bay last month, while other diners ate their meals around her.

But CCTV caught her slumping over at around 1am, according to reports.

A customer found the woman, who was wearing a coat and slippers, cold and unresponsive the next morning - and police were called at 8.30am, around 24 hours after she first entered the restaurant.

The South China Morning Post identified the woman as 56-year-old Lai, and pointed to a growing trend for homeless people to seek shelter in chains that are open all night.

The BBC also reported, after spending the night in one of the stores, that the open-all-night branches act as temporary hostels.

It also said that Hong Kong is one of the world's most unequal places in terms of wealth distribution, with one in five of the territory's seven million people estimated to live in poverty, according to government figures.

Among the elderly, it reported, one in three lives below the poverty line.

A spokesman for McDonald’s Hong Kong told the paper that the fast food chain was cooperating with police, and confirmed The Ping Shek Estate restaurant was cleaned and disinfected immediately after the incident.

The spokesman said the woman had not ordered any food, but had asked for water from the counter.

“In order to provide a pleasant dining environment, we would not disturb our customers, but our service will be offered promptly upon request," he said.