Medical Council member steps down over young girl coroner inquest case

Alex Lam, a Medical Council member elected by patient organisations and pro bono lawyer for the Coroner's Inquest into the medical incident involving the young girl Chau Tin-yu, has resigned from his position on the Medical Council to avoid public misunderstanding and a conflict of interest.

The young girl Chau became in a vegetative state and ultimately passed away six years after undergoing surgery. A Coroner's Inquest and a Medical Council inquiry will be held separately. Alex Lam, who is himself a lawyer and the chairperson of a patient policy concern group, says on October 25th, he agreed to act as the pro bono legal representative for Chau's father to handle the Coroner's Inquest. He then made a written declaration to the Medical Council over this arrangement.

However, he says the Medical Council took the view that even though he was not handling the relevant case within the Medical Council, a conflict of interest still existed.

Lam says he had not come into contact with any case-related materials within the Medical Council and did not believe a conflict of interest existed. However, in order to avoid public misunderstanding and prevent further delays to the inquest, he decided to step down from his position as a Medical Council member.