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Elizabeth Cheung


An HIV-positive man is suing a renowned Hong Kong doctor for breaching the Disability Discrimination Ordinance by refusing to perform surgery to cure his sleeping disorder.
The patient, an American expatriate using the alias ER, is claiming HK$420,000 from Dr Lawrence Li Kwok-chang, a private ear, nose and throat specialist, for injury to his feelings.
In the writ filed in the District Court, ER, a married gay man, accuses Li – son of the late “godfather of Hong Kong’s stock exchange” Ronald Li Fook-shiu – of violating the ordinance by cancelling and deferring surgery to treat his mild sleep apnoea in 2014 after being informed he was HIV positive.
Apnoea is a condition in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep.
Li was said to have refused to operate despite being told by another of ER’s doctors that the patient had been taking antiviral medication since 2013, his HIV level was considered “undetectable” and the surgery posed no risks.

Li allegedly cancelled the first operation on November 24, 2014, at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital in Happy Valley because of ER’s HIV status. He also claimed there were no beds available, which ER said he later found out was untrue.
A day later when ER was about to attend Canossa Hospital in Mid-Levels for the operation, he was again told by Li that surgery would not be performed because of his status as an HIV carrier.
Li said the surgery had to be delayed in order to carry out a “more rigorous assessment of risks” for ER and hospital staff.
He suggested ER revisit other types of treatment that had previously proved ineffective, such as using a nasal mask during sleep, before proceeding with surgery.
ER eventually sought help in early 2015 from another specialist, who conducted the surgery and provided further procedures without problems.
He demanded a declaration stating Li unlawfully discriminating against him and a written apology and financial compensation for the unnecessary delay in treating his sleep apnoea. He said he had also suffered emotional distress and two panic attacks.
Li told local Chinese media on Saturday that he learnt about ER’s HIV status only two days before the surgery and that he had deferred the surgery as he needed time to consider whether his clinic could handle the patient. He said he was more concerned about his reputation than money.


HIV-positive man sues Hong Kong doctor for refusing surgery to tackle sleep disorder

The Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, Happy Valley. Photo: Robert Ng

Undated handout photo of Dr Lawrence Li Kwok-chang, chairman of Occupational Deafness Compensation Board.

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

American expat is claiming HK$420,000 from Dr Lawrence Li Kwok-chang
