HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam was discharged from hospital on Tuesday (Oct 19) after staying overnight with a fractured right elbow following a fall at the official chief executive residence.

Media footage showed Lam leaving the Queen Mary Hospital and entering a black seven-seater without answering questions from reporters.

"She attended the hospital by herself and was diagnosed with a minor right elbow fracture," a government statement said.

The weekly executive council meeting and her news conference were cancelled and her deputy, John Lee, promoted earlier this year after contributing to Hong Kong's authoritarian turn as secretary for security, will take over other duties.

Lam's tumultuous tenure, during which the former British colony saw the biggest pro-democracy and anti-China protests since its return to Chinese rule in 1997, ends next year.

The protests ended last year with a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing. Lam has not answered questions on whether she will seek another term.