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Two doctors from Tseung Kwan O Hospital were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of unauthorized disclosure of internal documents containing multiple patients' information to a third party, the hospital’s top official said on Monday.
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The arrests were made under the crime of "access to a computer with criminal or dishonest intent," and both individuals are currently in custody for investigation.
The hospital's Chief Executive, Kenny Yuen Ka-ye, addressed the media today, stating that the incident is considered an isolated event.
He said the hospital initiated an internal investigation in mid-August after receiving a complaint regarding the leakage of confidential patient data to the media. Following the investigation, the hospital reported the matter to the police and the Medical Council.
Yuen emphasized that the motive behind the doctors' actions remains unclear and all possibilities are being considered. The police have confirmed that establishing the motive is a primary focus of their investigation.
The two arrested individuals are a 57-year-old consultant and a 35-year-old associate consultant. The associate consultant has been temporarily suspended from duty, while the consultant expressed his intention to resign during the hospital's internal investigation.
Yuen explained that while all doctors have access to the patient information system, they are only authorized to use it if they are part of the patient's primary care team or require the data for research or clinical teaching purposes. A review confirmed that the two arrested doctors did not fall into these authorized categories.
The case came to light following the death of a female terminal pancreatic cancer patient in February after undergoing an endoscopic ultrasound-guided procedure at the hospital.
Her son subsequently received anonymous phone calls and multiple letters signed by a "concerned person." These communications included detailed medical records of his mother and other patients and made several allegations against the operating surgeon. The son later filed a complaint with TVB's news program "Scoop."
Yuen confirmed that the patient's case had been reviewed internally and by external medical experts, with both concluding that the outcome was a "known complication." The case has been referred to the Coroner's Court for further follow-up, and the police are also investigating the cause of death for a report to be submitted to the coroner.
Regarding a recorded meeting between the deceased's family and the surgeon that was aired on "Scoop," Yuen acknowledged that the surgeon had used the term "personal mistake" when addressing the incident. However, he pointed out that another consultant present in the meeting had corrected this, stating it was a known complication.
Yuen stated that the hospital considers the term "personal mistake" to be an inappropriate description of the event.
The official stopped short when asked if the surgeon involved had a history of medical incidents, reiterating only that the Hospital Authority has mechanisms to review the performance and outcomes of all doctors' procedures and would handle any issues accordingly.
Yuen strongly denied that this incident indicates systemic regulatory failures within the Hospital Authority, calling it an isolated case.
He expressed confidence that every healthcare professional is committed to protecting patient privacy and internal documents. He condemned the unauthorized access and leakage of patient data and internal documents as actions that severely damage the doctor-patient relationship and tarnish the professional image of healthcare workers.
He also emphasized that the Hospital Authority has an established whistleblowing policy, encouraging staff to report serious misconduct and issues of public interest in good faith, but he stressed that such actions must be done through legal and compliant channels.
In this specific case, the hospital had not received any formal report through official channels, he added.
