Five months after his abrupt resignation put the University of Hong Kong's medical faculty in the media spotlight, life goes on for former dean Lam Shiu-kum.
Friends and former colleagues, including Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping, the wife of former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, came to wish him well at the opening of his private clinic in Central earlier this month.
However, Professor Lam refused to speak to reporters outside the clinic. The sixth-floor lobby at Central Building was sealed off by a sliding door manned by staff who made sure only invitees were allowed in for the opening of the Centre of Alimentary Research, Education and Care.
In an e-mail, Professor Lam declined a request for an interview on the opening of his clinic, saying it was 'not an appropriate time for me to meet the press'.
On March 7, Professor Lam resigned amid a University of Hong Kong investigation into billing arrangements for private patients at Queen Mary Hospital, the faculty of medicine's teaching hospital. His resignation - 17 months before the end of his five-year term - sparked two inquiries and the case has been referred to a law enforcement agency.
But questions remain about the controversy and legislators are warning that the university is risking its reputation with its poor handling of the affair.
When Mr Tung resigned in 2005, citing pains in his legs as one of the reasons, Professor Lam was reportedly the person in charge of Mr Tung's comprehensive health check at Queen Mary Hospital.