Hong Kong's health chief has resigned after coming under severe criticism for a slow and sloppy response to last year's SARS crisis.

　　Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa said yesterday he had accepted Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong's resignation to help ease public concerns.

　　But the chief executive praised Yeoh for improving Hong Kong's health system by fixing shortcomings that came to light during the fight against SARS.

　　Tung told a news conference Yeoh had previously talked to him about quitting "in order to give expression to the spirit of accountability and to try to relieve the resentment felt by the victims of SARS."

　　But Tung told Yeoh there was more work to be done and kept him on.

　　Serious political pressure built up this week after a legislative report on Monday blamed Yeoh for many of Hong Kong's failures in the fight against SARS.

　　The disease infected 1,755 people in Hong Kong last year and killed 299 of them, throwing the city into an economic crisis as people stayed home and visitors stayed away.

　　The legislative report did not call for Yeoh's removal, but Hong Kong's top three political parties lined up yesterday to say he should go.

　　The 434-page legislative report said Yeoh had performed his job inadequately - paying too little attention to SARS when it was spreading on China's mainland early last year and later issuing statements that misled a nervous public about the severity of the disease after it arrived in Hong Kong.

　　Tung noted that when SARS first struck Hong Kong, it was an unknown disease but that hard work by health officials finally brought it under control.

　　Yeoh appeared next to Tung yesterday and told reporters it had been an honor to serve Hong Kong in a 33-year civil service career that began with an internship, but he left without taking questions.

　　Tung said Yeoh would stay until a successor is chosen.

　　A man whose wife was killed last year after catching SARS said Yeoh's departure would not lessen his grief.

　　(The Associated Press)