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Dr E is a consultant ophthalmologist in a public hospital who is often involved in the procurement of high value medical equipment for his department.  The procurement department of the hospital will seek Dr E’s views while drafting the specifications and in the course of purchase.   He has a strong influence on the final selection of supplier through his assessment on the performance of the equipment.

During the procurement of equipment for oculoplastics, Billy, the sales director of a potential supplier, earnestly asked Dr E to comment favourably on the equipment produced by his company.  He proposed to pay for the passage and accommodation for Dr E to visit the company’s laboratory in New  York  and  take  the  convenience  to  attend  an  important  medical conference there.   After the trip, Dr E recommended the hospital to offer the contract to Billy’s company.

Mr MA, a wealthy businessman, suffered from a sore throat for a prolonged period.   Recently, his family doctor found out that there was a sign of cancer in his throat and advised him to receive treatment as soon as possible.

Mr MA is acquainted with Dr G, the Chief of Service of the Radiotherapy and Oncology Unit in a public hospital.   Because of this connection, he was admitted to the hospital without having to wait.   The treatment was well conducted and Mr MA recovered rapidly.   Before being discharged from hospital, he proposed to donate a big sum of money to Dr G’s Department for the benefits of his staff members.   Dr G thought that he could maximize the benefit by setting up a welfare fund for subscribing medical journals, subsidizing part of the expenses for overseas visits and sponsoring staff functions in festive seasons.   Eventually, he thanked Mr MA for his generous offer.

Dr M, the Chief of Service of the Paediatric Department of a public hospital, has the approving authority for purchases not exceeding $100,000. He has a girlfriend Phoebe who is a sales manageress of a large medical equipment company.

Recently, David, the Department Operations Manager, recommended a replacement of a small piece of equipment and the sourcing was in progress. As Dr M knew that Phoebe was subjected to pressure by her boss to secure more business for the company, he offered to help his girlfriend.   After going through the quotations obtained by David, Dr M found that Phoebe’s was not the lowest.   He thus suggested to David that those quotations with lower price were marked up so that he could endorse the purchase of the medical equipment from Phoebe’s company after manipulation of the quotations.   In order to please Dr M, David agreed to the proposal.

Dr J is practising in a private clinic.   On one occasion, his friend Tony, an insurance agent, suggested to him a plan for earning quick money.   The Personal Accident Insurance Policy (PAI) offered by his company would provide insurance compensation for an injury caused by an accident resulting in death, permanent or temporary disability to an insured.   All claims under the PAI had to be supported by a form issued and signed by a registered doctor in Hong Kong.   Tony knew many construction workers and, as a first step,  he  would  suggest  to  them  to  buy  PAI  policies  from  him.    These individuals would make claims later, even though they just suffered from minor injuries.   What Dr J could help was to issue the medical attendant forms to support the claims and exaggerate the seriousness of the injuries, thus resulting in higher compensation payments.   The “profit” could then be split among all parties.

Dr N operates a clinic with many large corporate clients offering medical benefits to their employees.  He is usually busiest on Mondays as many patients from these companies visit him on that day complaining about soreness  in  different  parts  of  the  body.    It  is  obvious  that  after  their escapades over the weekend, the “patients” actually do not like working on Mondays and want one day’s sick leave.

Winnie, the secretary of one of the companies and a regular “patient” of Dr  N,  visited  the  clinic  on  a  Monday  morning.    As  usual,  she  brought imaginary ailments to Dr N to get a day off.   Dr N suggested a “win-win deal” to Winnie that she did not really have to show up at his clinic.   She could simply tell him her complaint over the phone.  Without actually seeing or treating Winnie, Dr N could issue a certificate to certify that Winnie was unfit for work.   He would then claim the consultation fee from Winnie’s company. Dr N further asked Winnie to introduce the scheme to her colleagues.   Being unaware of the plot, Winnie’s company wasted a large amount of medical expenses.