Family challenges Medical Council decision to close complaint over policewoman’s death

The family of a woman police officer who died after childbirth is challenging the Medical Council of Hong Kong’s decision to close its complaint for insufficient evidence. It questions whether the inquiry considered evidence from the 2022 inquest into her death.

The 26-year-old died after heavy bleeding following childbirth at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in October 2016. Her family complained to the council in 2017. On 8 November 2021, the council notified the complainant that disciplinary action against one doctor had ended and three others had been referred to an inquiry panel. After new information was provided, the case returned to the preliminary inquiry committee.

The coroner’s court ruled in 2022 that she died by misadventure, identifying an amniotic fluid embolism leading to disseminated intravascular coagulation as the cause. The family received notice in early September 2026 that the Medical Council secretariat was closing the complaint for insufficient evidence.

According to the family’s account of the secretariat’s letter, an expert confirmed that the obstetrician had not detected retained placental tissue, but described retained placenta as a complication of childbirth. The letter cited a rate of 2.6% to 6.4% among women giving birth in the Hospital Authority over past years. It also said experts considered that three doctors had done their best to resuscitate the patient. The inquiry committee accepted that advice and found insufficient evidence that the doctors had acted improperly, so it would take no further action.

The family disputes the closure, saying it is unclear whether the committee considered evidence from the inquest. It cites an expert witness who said a hysterectomy was not necessary at the time and that carrying it out without first supplementing clotting factors caused the patient’s death. The family also says the obstetrician had acknowledged at the inquest that he had misread the situation.

The family has appealed to the Secretary for Health, asking the preliminary inquiry committee to reconsider its decision.