Hong Kong doctor acquitted 15 years after complaint as watchdog drops case

A Hong Kong ophthalmologist has been cleared of professional misconduct after the city’s medical watchdog decided to offer no evidence against him, 15 years after a complaint was lodged over his handling of laser eye surgery procedures.

The three disciplinary charges against Dr Yiu Man-kit stemmed from a complaint submitted in 2011 by a patient, Chan Man-chi, over a bilateral Lasik surgery performed on her in May 2010 and a subsequent keratectomy on her right eye in September that year.

Yiu had allegedly failed to explain the possible risks and complications related to recurrent corneal erosion before the operation, not given his patient proper and timely advice on post-surgery treatment options and inadequately performed the subsequent keratectomy to treat the patient’s recurring conditions.

But at the start of the inquiry on Wednesday, legal officer David Yim Ho-ching, representing the council’s secretary, informed the panel that the prosecution would offer no evidence against the doctor for any of the charges.

Yiu was not present at the hearing and was represented by Johnny Mok SC.

Handing down the judgment, inquiry panel chairwoman Professor Grace Tang Wai-king said that the burden of proof in disciplinary proceedings rested entirely on the council’s secretary.