Felice Lieh-Mak

Felice Lieh–Mak (; born ) is a Hong Kong physician, psychiatrist, academician, editor and retired civil servant, and emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Background

She graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and undertook specialty training in London, joining the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 1978. She was a member of Hong Kong's Legislative and Executive Councils, served as chairwoman of the Medical Council and of the English Schools Foundation (until her resignation from the latter in March 2011 for personal reasons, including the arrival of her first grandchild), as president of the World Psychiatric Association, and as an advisor to the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

Education University of Santo Tomas, MD (cum laude), 1964, Medicine, Philippines Licentiate of Apothecaries LAH, 1967 Medicine Hall, Dublin, Ireland

Notable appointments 1966–67: Senior House Officer (Psychiatry), Littlemore Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK 1968–69: Medical Officer in Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong 1970–70: Senior House Officer, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford University 1971–78: Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU) 1974–74: Honorary Registrar, Park Hospital for Children, Oxford University 1974–74: Honorary Registrar, Warneford Hospital, Oxford University 1978–81: Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU) 1981–83: Reader, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU) 1990–94: President, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists 1992–97: Member, Executive Council, Governor's Cabinet, Hong Kong 1993–98: Chairman, Kowloon Regional Advisory Committee of the Hospital Authority 1993–96: President, World Psychiatric Association 1994–96: Chief Examiner, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists 1994–97: Chairman, Kwai Chung Hospital Governing Committee 1996–99: Chairman, Education Foundation, World Psychiatric Association

Notable affiliations 1979–present: Consultant, University Health Service, University of Hong Kong (HKU) 1980–present: Consultant (Psychiatry), Hong Kong Government 1983–present: Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU) 1983–present: Honorary Advisor, Hong Kong Mental Health Association 1987–present: Member, Editorial Board, Journal of the Hong Kong Medical Association 1991–present: Member, International Editorial Board, Journal of Stress and Depression 1994–present: Corresponding Editor, British Journal of Psychiatry 1994–present: Consultant, World Health Organization (WHO) 1994–present: Member, Editorial Board of the Hong Kong Medical Association 1996–present: Member, Editorial Board, Current Opinion in Psychiatry 1997–1999: Chairman, Hong Kong Medical Council 1997–present: Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics 1998–present: Chairman, Task Force on Review of Psychiatric Services 1998–present: Member, Steering Committee on Healthcare Financing of the Hong Kong Government 1998–2001: President, Asian Union Against Depression and Related Disorders 1999–present: Chairman of Queen Mary Hospital's Planning Committee 1999–present: Member, Working Group on Quality Assurance, Medical Council of Hong Kong 1999–present: Member, Global Forum for Health Research of the WHO/World Bank Mental Health Reform Initiative

Notable honours/fellowships August 1981: Fellow of the World Association for Social Psychiatry October 1983: Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists December 1985: Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (United Kingdom) August 1989: Outstanding Woman Physician (Philippines) April 1990: Corresponding Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association March 1991: Corresponding Fellow of the German Association for Psychiatry & Neurology October 1991: Honorary Member of the Italian Society of Psychiatry January 1992: Honorary Member of the Egyptian Psychiatric Association June 1994: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK) May 1995: Asian-American Award of The American Psychiatric Association October 1995: Fellow of the New York Academy of Science August 1996: Honorary Fellow of the World Psychiatry Association June 1997: Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Notable patients

Leslie Cheung Felice Lieh-Mak was the psychiatrist of Leslie Cheung, one of the most famous pop music icons in Asia. Leslie Cheung suffered from severe depression and sought treatment from Professor Lieh-Mak for almost a year. Despite her treatment effort Leslie Cheung finally killed himself by leaping off from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island, citing depression as the cause. As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death broke the hearts of millions of his fans across Asia and shocked the Asian entertainment industry and Chinese community worldwide.

Cheung's suicide note (translation):"Depression! Many thanks to all my friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh-Mak (麥列菲菲). This year has been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Sister Fei (沈殿霞). In my life I have done nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?"Despite the high profile of the patient, no comment has been given by Lieh-Mak on this incident.

Controversies Felice Lieh-Mak was involved in a case of failure to take proper steps to ensure complete removal of medical equipment which allegedly resulted in suicide of one of her patients after suffering from years of unbearable pain. The incident involved leaving behind a 2 mm long broken needle in the facial region of the patient. When confronted by the patient, Lieh-Mak maintained that the needle used in the electroconvulsive therapy, a common procedure practised in psychiatry, was put in and removed by a technician and that she had no responsibility for the mishap.