Doctor hits out at conviction
A DOCTOR who was wrongly convicted of performing an illegal abortion has accused the Judiciary of overlooking a gross miscarriage of justice in the High Court.
Gynaecologist Dr To Chun-fung, who was sentenced to one year in jail after his trial in January last year, had the conviction overturned in the Appeal Court last Thursday after the Chief Justice found there was no case to answer.
But Dr To claims that there was negligence during the trial and that this failed to surface at the appeal hearing which lasted for only half an hour.
Dr To said: ''I have suffered a lot since my wrongful conviction but I have also been unfairly treated by the legal system.
''I am shocked that a one year prison sentence can be overturned on appeal with the only explanation being that there was no case to answer.'' Dr To claims the High Court was told that the 18-year-old woman who was referred to him by another doctor did not tell him she wanted an abortion. An ultrasound examination revealed to him that the foetus had died, making an abortion unnecessary.
But despite these facts emerging in the original case, Dr To claims the prosecution misled the jury by painting a picture of a conspiracy to perform an illegal abortion.
Dr To added: ''The judge failed to direct the jury on the evidence they had heard.'' Fifteen months after the original trial the Appeal Court heard the patient could not even remember what Dr To had said to her.
A spokesman for the judiciary was not available for comment.
