Hong Kong doctor gets four months’ jail after 76 boxes of counterfeit HPV vaccines found in his clinic
- The shots found in Yeung Man-shun’s clinic were worth HK$174,800
- His case marks the first recovery of fake vaccines in the city
A Hong Kong court has jailed a doctor for four months for possessing 76 boxes of counterfeit human papillomavirus (HPV) shots found in his private clinic, in the first recovery of fake vaccines in the city.
The Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court on Friday convicted Yeung Man-shun, 50, of possession of the HPV shots with a total value of HK$174,800 (US$22,560) “for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture goods to which a forged trademark was applied”.
It also fined Harmony Medical Care Service, where Yeung was a director, HK$20,000 for the same offence. Yeung pleaded guilty to the charge.
The vaccines are intended for protection against the HPV, which increases the risk of, among several other diseases, cervical cancer – the seventh-most common cancer among local women in 2016. That year saw 510 new cases.
The Customs and Excise Department and the Department of Health mounted a joint operation in July last year and seized 76 boxes of the counterfeit medical equipment, as well as 47 boxes of genuine vaccines from Yeung’s clinic in Kwun Tong. The estimated market value of all the goods was about HK$280,000.
The health department’s drug office at the time said it received a complaint after a person got an HPV shot at the medical centre earlier that month.
