Hong Kong IVF clinic worker lied to cover up embryo specimen mix-up, flees city

Heal Fertility employee was responsible for extracting specimens from embryos before they were sent for genetic testing

An employee of a Hong Kong fertility clinic is suspected of lying to cover up a mistake involving mixed-up embryo biopsy specimens, the South China Morning Post has learned, with the police listing the case as fraud and placing the worker, who has returned to Malaysia, on the wanted list.

A source told the SCMP that the employee worked at Heal Fertility in Central and was responsible for extracting specimens from embryos before they were sent to the Chinese University of Hong Kong for testing.

In late July, the police interviewed the Malaysian female worker as part of their investigation, taking a statement under caution. She left Hong Kong the following day and later resigned from her employer.

The source said initial investigations suggest that she made an error while taking the samples and then attempted to cover it up with false statements.

The case is believed to be unrelated to trafficking in human embryos.

A police spokesman said the incident was being treated as a fraud case and referred to the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau for further investigation. The worker is now wanted by police.