This is probably the worst medical scandal in Hong Kong history, with nearly 30,000 COVID-19 vaccination exemption certificates allegedly issued without proper medical diagnoses by seven private local doctors who are said to have collected tens of millions of dollars in medical fees.
The doctors are now being investigated by police for alleged abuse of their professional ethics by issuing the certificates without following the guidelines of the Department of Health. So far, six of the doctors have been arrested, and one is still wanted by the police. The Department of Health has referred the doctors’ cases to the Medical Council of Hong Kong for follow-up. If their professional conduct is found to be in breach of government medical guidelines, these doctors will most likely be subject to criminal prosecution for fraud and related offenses and receive the deserved severe punishment.Medical experts believe that at least 90 percent of these improperly issued certificates are invalid. It’s difficult to understand the motives of those who went to considerable trouble — including waiting in line overnight outside clinics to obtain invalid certificates and paying thousands of dollars for them.
Most people believe the only logical conclusion is because of their blind political opposition against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, and their hope to prolong the pandemic to further harm both society and the Hong Kong economy
Why would they refuse to be vaccinated when it has proved to be an effective and medically sound process to protect themselves and those around them, and it is freely and easily available? Most people believe the only logical conclusion is because of their blind political opposition against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, and their hope to prolong the pandemic to further harm both society and the Hong Kong economy. If this is the case, then it is no longer just a crime of convenience but one of national security significance. As such, these invalid-certificate holders and the doctors who issued them should be dealt with by the full force of the law.
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But what should be a matter of the greatest concern is the immediate health threat posed by these invalid vaccination-exemption certificate holders who have the potential to trigger another outbreak in any locality through their close interactions with fellow citizens in various public venues that normally would allow entry only to vaccinated customers. It staggers the mind imagining how much harm these nearly 30,000 unvaccinated people could do, given their free access to almost all public venues, including restaurants, bars and various places of entertainment. And depending on the nature of their jobs, they also pose an immediate health threat to their colleagues, customers, classmates and countless others they interact with throughout the day. As they are more vulnerable to COVID-19 without vaccination and if they are infected, it can lead to serious symptoms or even death and will put an unnecessary burden on the public healthcare system. Hence, they are our No 1 public health enemy now!
So far, 26 people who allegedly bought the invalid vaccination-exemption certificates have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. It is also most alarming to learn that according to the Civil Service Bureau, there are 370 civil servants who have obtained exemption certificates from these seven doctors, and the police have arrested four of them so far, including three social workers and one government school teacher. It is difficult to imagine how a schoolteacher would willingly use a fake medical certificate to enter the school every day, cheating her principal and endangering her colleagues and students. She is simply bereft of the most basic human decency. Despite the requirement to swear allegiance to the HKSAR government, these government employees are apparently determined to continue with their antagonistic approach toward the government. As such, it also becomes a very serious internal discipline and national security issue.
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But not many people know that they may also be committing corruption offenses contrary to Section 9(3) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, which states that “any agent (employee) who uses any false document (fake exemption certificate) with intention to deceive his principal (employer)” is guilty of the offense and subject to the maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$500,000 ($63,700). The purpose of this offense is to uphold staff integrity and protect his principal’s interest. It is also possible that they may have committed offenses of offering bribes to the medical doctors if the latter belongs to an organization or company.
The government earlier announced that these certificates issued by the seven doctors would be invalid from Oct 12. This was a reasonable move to enable the certificate holders time to consult other doctors to determine whether they are indeed justified to be exempted on medical grounds.
Hence, it was most disappointing to learn that a High Court judge has just issued an injunction on the HKSAR government’s order to invalidate these COVID-19 vaccination exemption certificates issued by the seven doctors. The court’s decision came on the eve of the expiration of the government grace period, which means that those who are medically justified to be exempted would have obtained a fresh certificate by now. So it seems the injunction will benefit only those who still cannot obtain fresh certificates yet and hence are more than likely to have obtained these initial certificates in a questionable manner. Why should these suspects be protected by the injunction against the public health interest? The judge in effect is allowing these tens of thousands of suspected fake-certificate holders to continue to roam around the city as a major public health risk. The timing is most unfortunate as Hong Kong is prepared to lift most of the current restrictions for the important world events in November, including the financial summit (the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit) and the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament.
First, the Department of Health can require these certificate holders who have so far failed to obtain fresh medical certificates to be subject to regular PCR tests; otherwise, they should be barred from entering bars, restaurants, schools and various public venues
The court should not allow any legal technology to cause a major public health crisis involving life and death! Otherwise, it will only reinforce ordinary people’s perception that “the law is an ass”!
To prepare for the undesirable outcome of the judicial review and to counteract the public health risk caused by the court’s negative decision, there are several things the government can do immediately after the court case. First, the Department of Health can require these certificate holders who have so far failed to obtain fresh medical certificates to be subject to regular PCR tests; otherwise, they should be barred from entering bars, restaurants, schools and various public venues.
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Secondly, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) should immediately conduct a check on those 370 civil servants mentioned above to ascertain whether they have now obtained fresh exemption certificates. If not, there is reasonable suspicion that they have obtained the original certificates in a fraudulent or corrupt manner. A massive interview program should be conducted to ascertain the validity of their original certificates. If there is reasonable ground for suspicion of fraud or corruption, they should be interdicted from duty immediately to prevent them from becoming a public health and security risk.
In the meantime, police should speed up the investigation of those tens of thousands of invalid-certificate holders. Because of the large number involved, the priority targets for enforcement should be the employees of public bodies, such as the Hospital Authority, MTR etc, as they pose not only health risks but also national security risks. If unchecked, they can become a cancer of the public sector, potentially causing severe damage to the government from within and the whole society, and hence must be rooted out as soon as possible.
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All employers in the private sector should also report to ICAC promptly if they have any employees who are within this group and who have now failed to obtain the exemption certificate. By law, ICAC is duty-bound to take up the investigation, and it has strong investigative powers to follow up. As it would take time for any criminal proceedings to complete, the government and employers in the private sector should consider dismissing or interdicting those who have violated their trust immediately, thus sending a warning to those still harboring ill intentions against our society and government.
The author is an adjunct professor of HKU Space and a former deputy commissioner of ICAC.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.