Doctor who assaulted ex-girlfriend when refused sex to be referred to disciplinary tribunal: SMC
Clarence Teo Shun Jie at the State Courts on Nov 5, 2019. (Photo: TODAY/Raj Nadarajan)
SINGAPORE: A doctor who was convicted and sentenced for assaulting his girlfriend, leaving her with facial fractures and bleeding in the brain, will be referred to a disciplinary tribunal, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) told CNA on Monday (Jun 29).
Dr Clarence Teo Shun Jie, 35, is a locum, or stand-in doctor, who is still on SMC's register and currently holds a valid practising certificate, the council said.
Dr Teo had been sentenced last week to three years, six months and two weeks' jail, along with four strokes of the cane and a S$4,000 fine.
This was for a mix of charges including locking his ex-girlfriend in a room, assaulting her when she refused him sex and voluntarily causing hurt to her.
The SMC said it had imposed restrictions on Dr Teo's practice when it was first made aware of his case, which came before the courts in 2018.
READ: Doctor found guilty of locking ex-girlfriend in room, assaulting her after she refused him sex
"Following Dr Teo's conviction in court on Monday, Jun 22, SMC will be obtaining the court documents to prepare the charges before referring him to a disciplinary tribunal inquiry," said SMC.
It referred to the Medical Registration Act, which states that the council may immediately refer the matter to a disciplinary tribunal where a medical practitioner has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of an offence that implies "a defect in character which makes him unfit to practise medicine".
Possible outcomes from such tribunals include fines, suspensions, or removal from the register of medical practitioners.
Dr Teo had met the victim, 27-year-old Rachel Lim En Hui, in early 2017 on a dating application, before punching her while tipsy during an argument a month later.
READ: Doctor accused of assaulting ex-girlfriend when refused sex claims he cannot remember what happened
When she tried to end her relationship with him, he waited for her at the foot of her block, dragging her into his car while striking her and punching her face in the vehicle.
He then drove her to his home where he assaulted her, in events that he pleaded guilty to.
Dr Teo contested an incident in August 2017, which he was convicted of after a trial, of intermittently assaulting Ms Lim in his flat over two hours until his father called the police.
