A former dean of the University of Hong Kong's faculty of medicine appeared in court Tuesday charged with fraud and stealing money from patients, dpa reported.
Lam Shiu-kum, 65, faced 30 charges of fraud, one of misconduct in public office and three of theft after allegedly diverting medical fees owed by patients at the university's Queen Mary teaching hospital to himself.
Lam allegedly told patients between 2003 and 2006 to pay medical fees to Gastrointestinal Research, a company wholly owned and controlled by him, rather than to the hospital.
As a result, some 211,000 Hong Kong dollars (27,000 US) that should have gone to the hospital went to Lam instead, prosecutors claim.
Lam, who was arrested by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption last week, is separately charged with stealing 3.8 million Hong Kong dollars (486,000 US) from three patients between 2003 and 2007.
At his court appearance in Hong Kong's Eastern Court Tuesday morning, no plea was entered and the case was adjourned for a hearing in the city's District Court next month. Lam was released on bail.
Lam was at the University of Hong Kong from 1967 and was elected dean of the medical faculty in 2001. He resigned in February 2007 shortly before alleged irregularities over medical payments were reported by the university.