9 Years After Son’s Death, Eugina Lau Wins Medical Negligence Case
Above: Eugina Lau and Peter Cheung with their son and daughter.
In 2005, the premature death of the eldest son of former 1980s TVB actress Eugina Lau (劉美娟) and singer Peter Cheung (張崇德) was caused by the negligence of an obstetrician. Nine years after the baby died, the Medical Council finally held the hearing in which both Eugina and Peter testified. The two attending doctors were charged with several cases of negligent misconduct.
Eugina and Peter had expected the birth of their son on March 11, 2005. During a medical exam on February 18, 2005, obstetrician Dr. Choi Ming Yan (蔡明欣) told the couple that the baby was ready to be born and proceeded to administer amniotic pressure on Eugina without informing her of the risks. Dr. Choi asked Eugina to meet her at St. Teresa Hospital. On the way home to get her things, Eugina’s water broke. According to Peter, Dr. Choi used a ventouse, or vacuum device, to assist the delivery of a baby.
Although Peter said that Dr. Choi did not suggest the option of a Cesarean birth at that time, the defense lawyers claimed that it was Eugina who had rejected that option and requested for the administration of more painkillers.
A nurse claimed that the baby cried after 7 or 8 minutes after birth, but Peter did not hear it. At the hearing, Peter also said that Dr. Choi assured it would not be a difficult birth although the fetus was larger than normal.
The prosecution pointed out that hospital records showed that ten hours after admission into the hospital, Eugina’s cervix wall remained at two to three centimeters dilated; therefore it was not yet a good time for the baby to be delivered. From the video footage, it was also apparent that Dr. Choi had made an incorrect judgement of the condition of the baby. He appeared to be extremely pale and was having difficulty in breathing.
At the hearing, the attending pediatrician, Dr. Yi Kam Ming (尹錦明), was also questioned. According to Peter, the pediatrician noted that the baby was suffering from minor head bleeding and a weak heart, but assured that the conditions were normal. He arranged incubation and recommended that the baby be transferred to the intensive care unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He did not inform Eugina and Peter that the baby was in critical condition but instead, assured them not to worry. When the baby was admitted into Queen Elizabeth, he passed away that same afternoon.
Dr. Choi was charged with seven counts, including acting without proper justification, administration of amniotic pressure without the patient’s consent, misappropriate use of amniotic pressure and drugs while pediatrician Dr. Yi was charged with one count of professional misconduct for being negligent in providing proper care to the baby.
For years, Eugina and Peter grieved the death of their son, while dealing with the lawsuit proceedings. Married for 12 years, Eugina and Peter subsequently had a son and daughter. Since both are devout Christians, Peter reflected on the loss of his first son, “Looking at suffering from God’s perspective: suffering is experiencing and not the purpose; suffering is a process not a foregone conclusion; suffering is ordained but not a fate; suffering is a ladder not a demolished ruin; suffering is a blessing not a calamity.”
Source: East Week
This article is written by Karen for JayneStars.com.
Just searched her name and remember she was in “The Handsome Siblings” – Chut Toi Sheung Kiu – 1988 version with Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Hugo Ng Doi Yung. She played a Princess who got cheated by Eddie Kwan Lai Kit.
One of my favorites ancient drama in the 80s. I also like this version more than the other remakes.
I never knew they were even married but for 12 years? Wasn’t she dating David Siu back in the 90s?
Yes, she has been married for a long time. I heard that her husband is 10 years younger than her but not sure if it is true. She appeared at Kitty Lai’s wedding years ago.
So cute..the daughter resembles mum wheteas the son resembles daddy
Agree.
agree
Wow, I’m sort of surprised not too many people know who Eugina Lau is (not just here, but in other forums as well)…though I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, since she did retire from filming a long time ago (those who grew up watching TVB in the 80s will probably remember her). Her most famous role was as Michael Tao’s sister (her character’s name was Helen) in the Files of Justice franchise.
Anyway, I’m happy to hear that Peter and Eugina are finally getting the justice that they’ve been fighting for the past 8-9 years. It has been a long, difficult journey for them, filled with setback after setback, so definitely glad that they were finally able to break through. Miracles do happen!
Very happy for them to get the justice eventually.
I am not that shocked since many of the fans of today are very young and did not watch the series from the 80s. Also, since she has been retired for many years, it does make sense for many not to know her. I saw her in many series back then. She was also in Genghis khan with Shallin and Alex back then. Other series were the handsome siblings and destined to rebel. I enjoyed her performances back then.
Glad to see she and her husband got their justice. At least they were blessed with 2 more kids. Hope they can move on and enjoy the rest of their lives.
I remember first hearing about this around the time Kitty lai got married which was around 2005 since she and her husband attended her wedding.
She also played as Ekin’s mom in Thief of Honor. I loved that series to be honest. She paired up with Canti Lau.
Oh yea, she did. She was in any other series back then too. She was in Yanky Boy with Kitty and Leon too.
Meant to say many other series.
Yup…Eugina was actually in quite alot of series from 1986 to 1993 or so, as she sort of retired from the industry after that (though not completely because she does host a show for DBC radio currently). She was actually a pretty good actress in my opinion and quite a versatile one in that she could do a variety of different roles and different genres well (i.e. she could do the ‘good girl’ type such as in Yankee Boy or the evil villainess type like in Handsome Siblings). For me, the first role that really put Eugina’s name ‘on the map’ in my opinion was the one she played in The Final Verdict (man, that was such a dark and tragic series). I enjoyed most of her performances back then as well.
As per Wikipedia:
Peter Cheung (張崇德) born on 1971年10月21日 （42歲）.
From other sources:
實力派音樂唱作人， 畢業於加拿大Waterloo大學數學系，主修電腦、副修聲樂。 於1993年與兄張崇基憑著「認錯」贏得新秀歌唱大賽冠軍，成為華星唱片旗下歌手。 過去10年間，除了參與幕後音樂工作外，亦曾擔任電視/電台主持。
基本資料︰實力派音樂唱作人， 畢業於加拿大Waterloo大學數學系，主修電腦、副修聲樂。 於1993年與兄張崇基憑著「認錯」贏得新秀歌唱大賽冠軍，成為華星唱片旗下歌手。 過去10年間，除了參與幕後音樂工作外，亦曾擔任電視/電台主持。
劉美娟（1967年11月28號） 係無綫電視前藝員，香港電台DJ。1985年參加無綫電視嘅健美小姐競選攞到亞軍入行。佢係基督徒，藝人之家成員之一，老公係歌手張崇德。
Thanks for the info on her husband. Ok so she is that much older than him. I read a article back then where it said his family objected since she was 10 years older. I guess that is another example of we should not always believe everything we read,
I hope you can read Chinese. I could not find anything from the English version of Wikipedia.
Yes, I can read Chinese and thanks again for the info! I admit I usually get too busy and lazy to read articles word for word, so I usually just skim or read parts of it here and there..