Press Release

CSD issues follow-up statement on admission of person in custody into hospital at Tong Fuk Correctional Institution

     In response to media enquiries about the latest developments of the incident referred to the media on January 3 by Legislative Council member Dr Cheng Chung-tai regarding the admission of a 37-year-old male person in custody of Tong Fuk Correctional Institution into a public hospital, the Correctional Services Department today (January 20) issued the following statement:

     In the afternoon of January 1, a correctional officer found the person in custody concerned behaving abnormally inside the dining hall and the latter complained of abdominal pain. The correctional officer immediately arranged for him to receive medical examination at the centre hospital. The resident Senior Medical Officer conducted a medical examination of the person in custody and decided to refer him to a public hospital for further examination. During the transfer, his physical condition deteriorated and the medical staff applied emergency resuscitation to him upon his arrival at the Accident and Emergency Department of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital. Subsequently, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for further treatment.

     Given that the reason for referring the person in custody to the public hospital has been queried and the case has even been mistakenly alleged to be an assault incident, the Police conducted a thorough investigation into the case and eventually revealed no assault or any other criminal offences in the episode and that the reason for the person in custody's hospitalisation was solely due to his illness.

     Meanwhile, the person in custody is in recovery and his physical condition is improving.

Ends/Friday, January 20, 2017
Issued at HKT 18:10