‘Jailing of Hong Kong doctor a timely warning for clinics and beauty centres to prioritise consumer safety’
The doctor sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter could be further censured by the city’s medical watchdog, says the president of the Medical Association
Dr Gabriel Choi Kin, president of the Hong Kong Medical Association, was referring to Dr Stephen Chow Heung-wing, who was convicted over the death of a woman after a beauty clinic he owned administered experimental cancer therapy on her, which it sold as a health boost. Laboratory technician Chan Kwun-chung was jailed for 10 years for the same conviction.
Three other women also fell seriously ill after receiving the same cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell therapy at the Hong Kong Mesotherapy Centre, owned by Chow’s DR Group, in Causeway Bay.
On Tuesday, Choi said in a radio programme that if doctors performed treatments “lacking evidence-supported outcomes”, they should be prepared for severe sentences and additional punishment.
“Chow would have to face a hearing at the Medical Council after serving his prison sentence, if he is a registered doctor. This a serious message to doctors,” Choi said, referring to the watchdog, which licenses and disciplines medical practitioners in the city.
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According to the council, Chow’s name will remain in the general register for doctors for now.
