A nurse convicted of rape and administering drugs was hired as nursing director at Ka Shui Garden Nursing Home for the Elderly (Tak Tin) after his release from prison and remained registered until July 2026.
The man was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to seven years and four months in prison. He was released in mid-2025 and subsequently appointed to the nursing-director role. The home said it learned of his conviction late that year and moved him into clerical work. He eventually left on 31 August 2026.
The Nursing Council of Hong Kong published a notice on 24 July 2026 deregistering him after finding that he had committed an imprisonable offence. The council said the law did not empower it to suspend a nurse's practising status immediately after learning of a conviction; disciplinary proceedings could begin only after the court had completed sentencing. After learning that he had been released, officials immediately began the process and expedited it.
The care home's operator, Kato (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited, said the transfer to clerical work reflected his good performance and a wish to give him an opportunity to reform. Its chairman said the contract was later terminated after an incident involving a resident in a dangerous condition. The operator said the former nurse tried to use a stethoscope, then said he was no longer a nurse and handed the stethoscope to a nursing colleague. The operator denied that he continued nursing procedures after deregistration.
The nursing-director role did not necessarily involve physical contact with residents, but it could involve assessing them or advising staff about care, including decisions based on vital signs. The sector representative said someone with this type of conviction was entirely unsuitable for work involving physical contact with elderly residents, such as helping them wash, bathe or change incontinence pads.
The Social Welfare Department said it received complaints in July and August 2026 about an employee working outside his role. It conducted surprise inspections and reviewed CCTV, finding that the home had not ensured staff worked within their roles or that staff providing nursing services had appropriate qualifications. The department issued enforcement letters requiring improvements.
The sector representative said the law governing residential care homes does not require employers to check applicants' sexual-offence records before hiring, adding that existing record-checking arrangements mainly concern work involving children and mentally incapacitated people.
The Social Welfare Department said it would continue monitoring Ka Shui Garden Nursing Home for the Elderly (Tak Tin) to ensure that it carried out the required improvements.