Hong Kong's Medical Council overturns termination of medical blunder proceedings
發佈日期: 2025-11-22 23:34
TVB News
Hong Kong's Medical Council on Saturday overturned a decision of a permanent stay of proceedings.
This came after an inquiry into a suspected medical blunder that happened 15 years ago in which a child was left permanently disabled with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia.
The proceedings of the Hong Kong Medical Council's inquiry panel resumed on Saturday afternoon.
In 2010, a mainland couple lodged a complaint against a Baptist Hospital paediatrician who was accused of negligence, causing their child to suffer from cerebral palsy and quadriplegia.
While the disciplinary procedures of the doctor, Sit Sou-chi was scheduled in July, 2016, the accused requested to postpone the hearing and the application was approved.
Ultimately, the inquiry panel reconvened the hearing in October.
On the first day of the hearing, the accused doctor applied for a permanent stay of proceedings.
The panel accepted the application.
On Saturday, Sit's lawyer said they support the decision and think it is the correct one. They said an eight-and-a-half-year procedural delay was too long and would affect the fairness of the hearing if it was continued.
Sit's lawyer also said that the accused did not cause the delay, but the medical council and its secretariat had the responsibility to handle the matter.
The prosecution, meanwhile, said that the inquiry panel had earlier proved that the procedure could be conducted fairly.
After some deliberation, the council quashed the stay. It said consideration must be given to public benefits and maintaining public confidence.
The couple said the new decision has reignited their hopes of obtaining justice.
Explaining its reasons for overturning the stay, the council's chairperson, Grace Tang, said they had realised that some of the legal perspectives proposed by both sides were not thorough enough since the previous procedures in October.
Tang added that they will launch the proceedings for the case as soon as possible.
