Doctor on trial for molesting patient during consultation

SINGAPORE: A doctor is on trial for molesting a patient in a clinic two years ago.

Dr Lui Weng Sun, 46, claimed trial on Monday (Aug 19) to one charge of using criminal force on a 24-year-old woman to outrage her modesty.

He is accused of pulling down a bra cup of the woman, whose identity is protected by gag order, placing a stethoscope on her left breast, and touching her nipple with his finger.

The incident is said to have occurred at Northeast Medical Group clinic in Block 39 Jalan Tiga at 2.42pm on Nov 6, 2017.

The victim's boyfriend told the court through a Mandarin interpreter on Tuesday that he had questioned the doctor on why he had touched her even though she had gone there for a "normal sickness" like flu and fever.

In a phone call lasting at least five minutes to the doctor, the boyfriend asked why the doctor needed to "open her clothes, pull down her bra and touch the breast area".

"He answered: 'Sorry, sorry, I need to check the things inside'," said the man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim. 

"He used those kind of doctor terms in English, (saying he needed) to check the internal organs like the liver, the lungs and heart, things like that."

The doctor neither admitted nor denied any of the allegations, said the boyfriend, who had made the call with the victim by his side.

He said he was unhappy and could not really understand the doctor's explanations. 

"I told him - it's just flu and cough, there's no need to open clothes," said the man. "I told him I was hungry because I just ended work, so I asked him to call me back in one to two hours (and to ) think carefully of a reason to convince me."

When Dr Lui called him again, he repeated the same reason he had given for "opening" the woman's clothes, saying he needed to check the "things inside", which the boyfriend explained to be the internal organs.

"I asked him - if indeed you need to check the things inside, my girlfriend wanted to go there only for flu, cough and fever," said the boyfriend. "And further, why wasn't there a nurse there?"

The doctor then asked the man "what do you want me to do", and the man answered that he merely wanted an explanation for why he had to lift his girlfriend's clothes.

The boyfriend then said he would consider going to the police if not given a satisfactory answer.

He later made a police report after discussing the matter with his girlfriend.

Responding to CNA's queries, a spokesperson of the Northeast Medical Group said that Dr Lui had not worked under the group since the incident two years ago. 

"All doctors are governed by a set of professional and ethics guidelines as prescribed by the Singapore Medical Council. As this case involves a doctor who does not work with us, we do not intend to take any further action," the spokesperson added. 

The trial continues.

If found guilty of using criminal force to outrage the woman's modesty, Dr Lui could be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of such penalties.