Medical Council explains why 15-year misconduct was dropped

The Medical Council of Hong Kong defends its decision to drop a professional misconduct case more than 15 years after the complaint was first lodged.

It says the prosecution no longer has a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction after a key prosecution witness cannot be located.

The case involved an ophthalmologist Dr. Yiu Man-kit, who performed a LASIK laser vision correction and a corneal procedure on a patient in 2010.

After more than 15 years, the council's inquiry panel found the allegation not proven after considering all admissible evidence, including the fact that a prosecution witness had lost contact.

A patient advocacy group says the explanation still falls short of addressing public concerns, arguing that greater transparency is needed over how a complaint could remain unresolved for over 15 years.

As the government has proposed legislative reforms aimed at setting target timeline for relevant complaint handling, the group hopes similar delays could be prevented in future.