Hong Kong doctor jailed for issuing Covid vaccine exemptions without medical checks
Advertisement
The District Court on Friday sentenced Dr Wong Ping-leung for his dishonest use of the government's electronic health record system to generate the certificates at his clinic in Chai Wan's Hing Wah Plaza between April and June 2022.
Judge Kwok Wai-kin said the 62-year-old was blinded by greed, noting that he had made more than HK$4.6 million in consultation fees in just 4½ months from thousands of residents who wanted the exemptions.
The judge also slammed the accused for undermining the government's effort to combat the
pandemic , as he rejected the defence's request to sentence him to community service.
Wong is the first to be sanctioned by a court after police accused
seven doctors of fraudulently issuing vaccination exemption certificates without observing the Department of Health's guidelines.
Advertisement
The certificates were part of the government's
vaccine pass scheme to boost the inoculation rate by limiting the mobility of those who were unvaccinated. The scheme ran from February to
December 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
27 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Do lip fillers affect kissing and can they be harmful? Experts on the results and risks
Our lips say a lot and we want them to look good. 'Full, beautiful, sensual lips represent youth, fertility and sexual attractiveness,' says Helge Jens, a German plastic and aesthetic surgery specialist based in the western German city of Aachen. 'Rosy, full lips simply look vibrant, while thin, dry, colourless or wrinkled lips tend to symbolise illness and age.' 'Lips play a major role in our emotional life,' says Berlin-based psychotherapist Wolfgang Kruger. 'Kissing is the best and most intimate way to create closeness.' Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are helping drive the demand for more desirable-looking lips , especially through lip fillers. But can fillers be harmful? Do they affect sensation? Are they noticeable when you kiss? Social media platforms are helping drive the demand for more desirable-looking lips. Photo: Shutterstock People do not always get plastic surgery for lip fillers. Depending on local regulations, they can also get fillers from beauticians. In Hong Kong, the Department of Health says only registered medical practitioners should give these injections.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong to launch guide for professionals required to report child abuse cases
Hong Kong authorities will launch a guide for professionals required to report child abuse cases by the end of the month, which will include a decision tree that can be used as a legal defence in court. An ordinance that requires 25 education, healthcare and social work professions to report suspected cases of child abuse will come into effect on January 20 next year, with offenders liable for a maximum penalty of three months in jail and a HK$50,000 (US$6,370) fine. Welfare officials said at a legislative council meeting on Monday that a guide for these professionals would be released by the end of July and would include a decision tree and supplementary analytical framework. They also affirmed that more manpower and resources would be allocated to handle the anticipated uptick in child abuse case reports, such as residential childcare services and multi-professional support teams. 'The purpose of the guide is to help mandatory reporters identify suspected cases of child abuse and lay down the basic principles for their reference,' said Wendy Chau Fung-mui, assistant director of family and child welfare. 'The guide is a supplement, but not a replacement for the professional judgment of mandatory reporters … they do not have to use the decision tree when making a report if they have relevant experience.'
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong urged to expand carer support scheme to cover other vulnerable groups
A Hong Kong pilot scheme to identify hidden cases of at-risk carers should be expanded to also cover other low-income families and subdivided flat tenants, a social worker and a district councillor have urged, as a new database to address the issue began operation. The first part of the government initiative began at 9am on Monday and will see the Hospital Authority send daily alerts to the Social Welfare Department if any carers among the 8,000 to 9,000 households listed in the database have been hospitalised. The department would then check on the needs of the elderly or disabled person being cared for and offer them support, such as meal deliveries or respite services. The scheme was set up after a series of tragedies related to the increasing burden placed on carers' shoulders, with most cases involving single older people living alone and elderly couples who took care of each other. Social worker Crystal Yuen Shuk-yan cited concerns about possible time lags and questioned whether the alerts from the authority to the department would be prompt enough. 'If a carer was hospitalised during the day but authorities only receive an alert the next morning, wouldn't it be a long period of time where their dependents do not receive food or care?' she said on a radio programme on Monday.
