Hong Kong doctor arrested on suspicion of taking cannabis on duty is released after second test finds no trace of the drug
- Emergency ward associate consultant freed without conditions – but he remains suspended from duty as police investigation continues
A senior Hong Kong doctor arrested for allegedly taking cannabis on duty at a public hospital has been released unconditionally after a second urine test revealed no trace of the drug.
Dr Yan Yuk-yu, 48, an associate consultant of the accident and emergency department at Tuen Mun Hospital, was arrested at his home in Tai Wai on March 8 after a urine sample tested by the hospital showed he might have taken the substance.
But a detailed test by Princess Margaret Hospital on a urine sample taken hours after the first one showed a negative result for cannabis, a police source said.
Yan was released with no conditions when he reported to police on April 4, but the source said the investigation would continue.
A police spokeswoman said Tuen Mun district crime squad was working on the case.
A spokesman for the Hospital Authority said on Sunday the doctor was still on leave and that the hospital would continue to cooperate with police. He did not say if the doctor, who had been suspended, would be allowed to resume duty after his leave.
Yan left his work station at 11pm on March 5, according to the hospital. He was nowhere to be found even when his colleagues searched and called him over the public address system.
When Yan returned at midnight, his mental and emotional state appeared strange, prompting staff to report the incident to management.
After a urine sample tested positive for cannabis, the hospital reported Yan to police on March 8.
Police found no cannabis at Yan’s home. A police source, however, had told the Post previously that Yan had admitted using the drug.
The arrest prompted the hospital to order a review of his consultation record over the past months to ensure no patients were affected.
The case was believed to be the first time a doctor in Hong Kong had been caught on suspicion of using cannabis while working.