Yeoh Eng-kiong

Yeoh Eng Kiong 楊永強 GBS,JP
Secretary for Health and Welfare, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Preceded by	Katherine Fok
Succeeded by	York Chow Template:Contains Chinese text

Dr. Yeoh Eng Kiong, GBS, JP (simplified Chinese: 杨永强; traditional Chinese: 楊永強; pinyin: Yáng Yǒngqiáng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Iûⁿ Éng-kiông, born 1946 in Ipoh, Malaysia) was the Secretary for Health and Welfare between 1999 and 2002, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food and a member of the Executive Council between 2002 to 2004 in the Hong Kong Government.

Dr. Yeoh's father was the late Yeoh Chin Hin, a Malaysian businessman who was a founder and director of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad.

Career

Dr. Yeoh studied medicine at the University of Hong Kong where he was elected President of the Student Union in 1969 and graduated in 1971. Dr. Yeoh specialised in gastroenterology. In 1979, he became a consultant physician at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

After a 19-year career at Hong Kong government hospitals, with recognised work in AIDS research, Dr. Yeoh became the first Chief Executive of the newly formed Hong Kong Hospital Authority in 1990. In January 1999, Dr. Yeoh was appointed to the post of Secretary for Health and Welfare (a civil servant position). In 2002, Dr. Yeoh was appointed as the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food under the new political appointee system.

SARS

Dr. Yeoh was heavily criticised by the media subsequently for his handling of the SARS outbreak. On 14 March 2003, despite the rising number of SARS cases in Hong Kong, Dr. Yeoh insisted there were no signs of a widespread outbreak - contradicting direct statements from hospital staff.

He was forced to resign on 8 July 2004 to take political responsibility over the SARS outbreak. Dr. Yeoh was succeeded by Dr. York Chow.

Awards

In 2005, Dr. Yeoh was awarded a Grand Bauhinia Star and an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Hong Kong.