Clarisse Poon
Clarisse Poon | |
|---|---|
潘浠淳 | |
| Born | 2009 |
| Nationality | People's Republic of China (Hong Kong) |
| Education | Secondary school |
| Alma mater | St. Paul's Co-educational College |
| Known for | Medisafe controversy |
| Parent(s) | Poon Tung-ping (father) Pang Wing-chi (mother) |
| Relatives | Poon Chun-shing (ancestor) Poon Shun-yuen (grandfather) Poon Tung-song (uncle) |
Clarisse Poon (Chinese: 潘浠淳; born 2009)[1][2] is a Hong Kong student active in the field of innovative technology. She claimed to have independently developed an artificial intelligence (AI) medical assistance and prescription monitoring system called Medisafe, with which she won multiple local and international innovation awards. However, the system later sparked the MediSafe controversy due to issues regarding its originality and data privacy.
Biography
Clarisse Poon attends St. Paul's Co-educational College and has won awards in international piano competitions. During her junior secondary years, she collaborated with classmates to design the HikeSafe insole, winning the junior category of the JPC Bank of China (Hong Kong) STEM-Up Innovation Competition.[3][4]
She is also actively involved in volunteer work. In 2021, she co-founded the student organization Light Their Rights HK, which serves grassroots families and homeless individuals in Sham Shui Po. In 2022, she was awarded the Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award at the Hong Kong Volunteer Awards, becoming the youngest recipient at age 13. In 2023, she was named one of the Hong Kong Outstanding Teens Election.[5][6][7]
In December 2024, Poon represented Hong Kong at the 9th National Student "Learn the Constitution, Talk about the Constitution" competition in Beijing, earning a second-class award in the team legal literacy competition.[8]
Controversy
In 2024, Clarisse Poon claimed to have developed the AI-based Medisafe system, inspired by her hospital internship observations. She won four awards, including the Student Innovation Award and Gold Award, at the Hong Kong ICT Awards, followed by a Silver Award at the 50th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions and the inaugural Youth Innovator Award in 2025.
In June 2025, whistleblowers alleged that Poon engaged in ghostwriting misconduct, claiming that her parents, doctors Poon Tung-ping and Pang Wing-chi, had hired a US-based AI company to develop Medisafe. The allegations also suggested that patient medical records were used without consent, raising privacy concerns. On 4 August 2025, Ahmed Jemaa, co-founder and CEO of AI Health Studio, issued a LinkedIn statement confirming that Pang Wing-chi commissioned the system in March 2024. He stated that his company built Medisafe from scratch based on a preliminary concept and was unaware it was used for competitions, calling the situation unfair to other participants if true. The controversy garnered significant public attention.[9][10][11]
Family
The Poon family descends from Poon Chun-shing, a wealthy merchant from the Qing dynasty. Clarisse's grandfather (Poon Shun-yuen), father (Poon Tung-ping), mother (Pang Wing-chi), and uncle (Poon Tung-song) are all medical professionals. Poon Tung-ping, a liver cancer specialist, is an honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong's Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine. Poon Tung-song, a colorectal cancer expert, was an associate professor in the same faculty's colorectal surgery division, and Pang Wing-chi was an assistant professor there.[12][13]
References
- ^ "What our readers have planned for Mother's Day this year". South China Morning Post. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Readers share Father's Day plans, what they cherish about their dads". South China Morning Post. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "少年警訊創新科技大賽頒獎禮 蕭澤頤：冀青少年運用科創潛能". Sing Tao Daily (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 31 March 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "「香港十大傑出少年」其他得獎者 - 香港文匯報". Ta Kung Pao. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "創義工團援基層童 初中女生獲嘉獎 - 香港文匯報". Ta Kung Pao. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "「香港義工獎」義工故事 感動人心 13歲最年輕得獎者創紀錄". www.bastillepost.com. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "「香港十大傑出少年」其他得獎者 - 香港文匯報". Ta Kung Pao. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "廣傳國家憲法 港生貢獻港力". Ta Kung Pao (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Wayback Machine". web.archive.org. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Wayback Machine". web.archive.org. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ Pao, Ming. "回應女生「請槍」爭議 澄清受潘冬平妻委託研發 AI公司稱「從零」製作藥倍安心". Ming Pao. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "肝癌權威潘冬平 腸癌專家潘冬松 齊離港大開診 | 蘋果日報•聞庫". Apple Daily. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ 賴卓盈 (6 August 2025). "潘冬平女兒藥倍安心請槍爭議｜潘名醫開腔：信比賽單位會公正判斷". HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 16 August 2025.