Beijing police detain man responsible for leaking personal medical records

A man has been placed under administrative detention by Beijing police for leaking a patient's personal medical records, the public security department of Shunyi district said on Thursday.

The authority posted a statement on its official account of Sina Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like platform, saying that the man, surnamed Fu, 36, took advantage of the convenience of his work in a district hospital to send photos of a patient's medical records to WeChat groups for the purpose of showing off, which has led to the spread of the information and caused negative social effect.

According to the Chinese news outlets, including the China Central Television and China News Service, the patient was Kathy Chow Hoi-mei, a popular Hong Kong actress who died on Monday at the age of 57 after a prolonged battle with an illness.

Soon after the death, a picture involving Chow's personal data as well as her medical treatment, such as what time she saw the doctor and her symptoms, went viral on social media, arousing public outrage.

Under the Chinese laws, someone who violates public security rules, in general, will face a minimum of five days of administrative detention. If committing two or more violations, the detention time will be no more than 20 days.