The Medical Council suspended a doctor for nine months over a 2009 professional misconduct case that left a newborn with permanent cerebral palsy, the disciplinary hearing ruled on Sunday.
The ruling follows a 15-year delay over a complaint made by a mainland couple whose newborn son, Li Yuanjian, suffered cerebral palsy and quadriplegia after contracting Group B streptococcal meningitis at Baptist Hospital.
In the ruling this morning, the panel found the Baptist Hospital pediatrician, Sit Sou-chi, guilty of professional misconduct for failing to conduct timely checks on the infant, who later developed cerebral palsy.
Stressing the severity of the case, Sit was ordered a suspension for nine months without probation.
The core dispute centred on a 4am phone call in which nurse Ho Kit-ha testified she told Sit about both regurgitation and possible convulsions, though Sit insisted she mentioned only the feeding issue.
However, the panel found Ho's account more credible, reasoning that a nurse would not call a doctor over common regurgitation but more likely over suspected seizures, which are hard to detect in newborns.
The panel also pointed to Sit’s contradictory testimony, where he reportedly acknowledged being told about possible seizures during a meeting with the family one week after the incident.
Panel members also accepted expert opinions that Sit should have returned to the hospital immediately for assessment upon hearing about limb stiffness and dropping oxygen levels.
The panel described Sit's response as below the standard expected of Hong Kong doctors, leading to the boy's lifelong developmental delays. It added that Sit's repeated denial of Ho's report reflected a lack of remorse and self-reflection.
During the mitigation, Sit's lawyer argued the offense was at the lowest end of professional misconduct, pointing to his prompt remedial action.
The lawyer pleaded for leniency, calling the case an "isolated incident" with low reoffending risk given Sit's clean record, and stating that Sit had already suffered psychologically and been cast as a media "villain."
It is understood that the parents filed a complaint in 2010, but the case was delayed for nearly 15 years at Sit's request. It was only reopened after public outcry over a ruling last year to terminate the inquiry.
In a statement, the government said it fully supports the Inquiry Panel under the Medical Council which, following a review on its own initiative last November, restarted and successfully completed the inquiry into the case within eight months. The government said it respects the judgment made by the Inquiry Panel and stresses that the conclusion of the inquiry process helps clarify the facts of the incident and avoids the pressure on both the doctor and the patient's family arising from a prolonged wait for the inquiry.
The Health Bureau extends its sympathies to Li and his parents, and hopes that the judgment can bring them some solace, allowing them to focus fully on Li's care and rehabilitation while maintaining their confidence in Hong Kong's healthcare system and institutional framework.
