Medical Council delays hearing on anaesthetist in Chow Tin-yu case
Hong Kong's Medical Council has postponed a disciplinary hearing for a Queen Mary Hospital anaesthetist over alleged record alteration in the 2020 case of eight-year-old Chow Tin-yu. The delay, pending a coroner's inquest, aims to avoid evidentiary conflicts, though Chow's father expressed surprise
The Medical Council has postponed a disciplinary hearing into whether a Queen Mary Hospital anaesthetist altered surgical records in the 2020 incident that left eight-year-old Chow Tin-yu in a vegetative state, pending a coroner's inquest.
The hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday. The council said the inquest and disciplinary hearing involve the same clinical events and overlapping evidence, and that the Coroner's Court has broader investigative powers. Postponing avoids disputes and delays if new evidence emerges.
Chow's father said he was surprised by the delay, questioning why the council waited until the last moment to inform him, though he agreed waiting for the inquest would allow a fairer hearing.
Tin-yu suffered a 48-minute delay in blood transfusion during surgery at Queen Mary Hospital in May 2020, leaving her in a vegetative state. She died on March 10, 2024.