When experimental treatments lead to death in Hong Kong, prosecution is not always simple
But a dark corner of the healthcare industry exists in the grey area between medical treatment and experimental procedure.
Over the years there have been a number of tragic cases where the administering of experimental treatments has led to the patient's death. As with medical negligence more generally, conduct of this character is prosecuted under the crime of gross negligence manslaughter, which remains a common law offence.
In fact, developments in this area of the Hong Kong common law have often come from the medical sector, with the leading case on gross negligence manslaughter being the prosecution of Dr Mak Wan-ling, which led to a decision in 2019 from the Court of Final Appeal that clarified the elements of the offence.
Questions were also raised in that series of cases about the legal relationship of the companies running the clinic (also known as the 'DR Group') and whether that was relevant to the law of gross negligence manslaughter.
Indeed, these cases may often serve to shine a spotlight on areas where more regulation is required. To clarify the legal responsibilities of other forms of health treatment centres, the government enacted the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Cap 633) in 2018, which now imposes a number of legal duties on persons who operate private healthcare facilities, clinics and so on.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
42 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Harmful substances found in 13 out of 28 school shoe models sold in Hong Kong
Nearly half of 28 models of primary school shoes sold in Hong Kong contain harmful substances, with carcinogens exceeding international safety limits found in four, tests by the consumer watchdog have revealed. The Consumer Council on Thursday also published international test results showing that three out of 22 child car seats models sold locally had 'weaker crash protection', and trace amounts of harmful substances were found in eight. For the shoe results, published ahead of the start of the new school year, the council tested the 28 models for chemical safety and physical performance. The shoes cost from HK$198 to HK$599. It found 'various harmful substances' in 13 of them, including the carcinogen chromium VI, aromatic amines, formaldehyde and the reproductive toxicant phthalates. Chromium VI is typically formed during leather tanning and can cause lung cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified it as a Group 1 'carcinogenic to humans' agent.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How Chinese team's fast DNA blood test could transform pancreatic cancer detection
A genomic tool developed by researchers in China could transform early detection and personalised treatment for pancreatic cancer – one of the deadliest forms of the disease. Known as the 'king of cancers', pancreatic cancer is characterised by late diagnosis, rapid metastasis and limited treatment targets. It ranks as the sixth leading cause of global cancer mortality, according to the Global Cancer Observatory. However, the 'Uni-C' single-cell 'multiomics' technology developed by the Chinese team could enable entire DNA analysis in less than a day, matching the accuracy of traditional biopsies and promising more early detection. Lin Da, professor at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Yang Yuqin, director of the Laboratory Animal Centre at Shanghai General Hospital, led the team, which introduced Uni-C in a study published in Nature Communications on July 26. The pathbreaking method can simultaneously decode three critical layers of genomic information from individual circulating tumour cells (CTCs) – large-scale structural variations, small-scale mutations, and 3D chromatin architecture – providing unprecedented insights for early screening, monitoring, and tailored immunotherapy. CTCs are rare 'seeds' shed from tumours into the bloodstream, carrying the complete genomic profile of the primary tumour. Yet their scarcity – often just a few cells per millilitre (0.03 ounce) of blood – has made comprehensive analysis nearly impossible.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Harmful substances found in 13 out of 28 school shoe models sold in Hong Kong
Nearly half of 28 models of primary school shoes sold in Hong Kong contain harmful substances, with carcinogens exceeding international safety limits found in four, tests by the consumer watchdog have revealed. The Consumer Council on Thursday also published international test results showing that three out of 22 child car seats models sold locally had 'weaker crash protection', and trace amounts of harmful substances were found in eight. For the shoe results, published ahead of the start of the new school year, the council tested the 28 models for chemical safety and physical performance. The shoes cost from HK$198 to HK$599. It found 'various harmful substances' in 13 of them, including the carcinogen chromium VI, aromatic amines, formaldehyde and the reproductive toxicant phthalates. Chromium VI is typically formed during leather tanning and can cause lung cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified it as a Group 1 'carcinogenic to humans' agent.
