Hong Kong medical watchdog to hold by-election after member quits over conflict risk

Hong Kong’s medical watchdog will hold a by-election after a prominent patients’ rights advocate resigned amid concerns over a potential conflict of interest in his plan to represent the father of a child who died following an alleged medical blunder at an inquest into her death.

The Medical Council announced on Thursday that it will process matters related to the by-election for the vacancy created by the departure of Alex Lam Chi-yau, who submitted his written resignation as a lay member a day earlier.

His resignation will take effect from 11.59pm on Thursday.

“The council expresses gratitude and appreciation for his service as a member of the council as well as his active participation and valuable contributions in the work of various committees and disciplinary inquiries over the past seven years and 10 months,” the council said in a statement.

Lam said he would represent Eddie Chau, the father of Chau Tin-yu, who was left in vegetative state for four years after an alleged medical blunder, at the inquest.

A pre-inquest review is scheduled for November 20, according to the judiciary’s website.

The council noted that questions had arisen regarding potential conflicts of interest when a member serves as a legal representative in a death inquest or other legal proceedings.

“The council is examining the relevant information and will engage in in-depth discussion to determine whether it is necessary to establish clear guidelines for this purpose,” it said.

Lam previously told the South China Morning Post that supporting Chau in the coroner’s inquest was “the most important task” at present, and that he considered resignation the most suitable decision.

He also expressed disappointment over the council’s decision to adjourn a disciplinary hearing on Tin-yu’s case just days before its scheduled start in October, arguing that the secretariat should have known an inquest would be held.

The Coroner’s Court confirmed in February that an inquest would be held, although no date has been set. The Medical Council first notified Chau in March that its disciplinary hearing would begin in October.

In September, the court told Chau that it would wait for the council’s hearing, originally scheduled to begin on October 27, to conclude before proceeding with the inquest.

But the council, which abruptly adjourned the hearing just a week before it was set to start, said it would wait till the inquest had ended.

The council said on Thursday that it would continue to closely monitor the progress and findings of the death inquest.

“Upon the conclusion of the concerned death inquest, the secretariat will arrange for the disciplinary inquiry to be conducted as soon as practicable,” it stated, adding that it had notified Chau of the decision and provided a detailed explanation for the adjournment.

Tin-yu was four years old when she underwent surgery to remove a rhabdomyosarcoma tumour, a rare form of cancer, at Queen Mary Hospital in May 2020.

During the operation, a blood transfusion was delayed by 48 minutes and her heart stopped beating for 52 minutes.

She emerged from the operating theatre in a vegetative state and remained in that condition for four years before dying in March 2024, aged eight.

A complaint against the anaesthesiologist involved in the surgery was lodged with the medical watchdog in April 2021.