Doctor convicted of sexually assaulting, molesting patient sentenced to 10 years’ jail
Wee Teong Boo (pictured), 68, was found guilty of one count of sexual assault by penetration and another count of molesting his patient, who cannot be named to protect her identity.
SINGAPORE — The doctor convicted of sexually assaulting and molesting a long-time patient was sentenced to 10 years’ jail by a High Court judge on Wednesday (Feb 27).
Wee Teong Boo, 68, was also ordered to make compensation of S$1,200 to his victim for her counselling sessions.
Wee will be appealing against the conviction and sentence, the court heard. Similarly, the prosecution will be appealing against the sentence and his acquittal for rape.
Wee was found guilty of one count of sexual assault by penetration and another count of molesting the woman, who cannot be named to protect her identity.
The general practitioner was at first charged with raping the victim, now 26, during a late-night consultation on Dec 30, 2015. She had been seeking treatment for gastric problems, frequent urination and an itch on her genitals.
But on Monday, Justice Chua Lee Ming convicted him of the reduced charge, on the grounds that he was “satisfied that there is reasonable doubt as to whether penile penetration could have taken place”.
WEE ‘GRAVELY ABUSED POSITION OF TRUST AND AUTHORITY’
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz urged the court to impose a jail sentence of 12 years and four months, with seven strokes of the cane.
However, as Wee is above 50, caning cannot be imposed. The prosecutor thus asked for a three-month jail sentence to run in lieu of caning.
DPP Sharmila also asked for a compensation order of S$1,200.
The prosecutor charged that Wee had “gravely abused his position of trust and authority as a medical professional to deceive and take advantage of his patient, preying on her vulnerability and trust to indulge his own perverse, hedonistic sexual desires”.
She added that Wee’s “senseless actions” violated “the very ethical mores that every doctor swears to uphold”.
DPP Sharmila said that the trust between doctor and patient was “violated in the most reprehensible way fathomable” when the offences were committed.
“His abhorrent abuse of his position to sexually abuse an unsuspecting patient must be renounced in the strongest terms,” she told the court.
‘LIVING LIKE THE WALKING DEAD’
DPP Sharmila also highlighted the harm caused to the woman. Reading part of the woman’s testimony in court, the prosecutor said that the victim was “living (like) the walking dead… walking as per normal but… just dead inside”.
The victim had said that she was in a state of shock and felt that “it was very unfair”.
“I wasn’t born with the mission to be a prostitute, so I don’t know why am I being raped like that on a visit to a doctor. I mean, what are the odds of being raped when you visit a medical professional in Singapore?” she had testified.
DPP Sharmila said that after the incident, the victim found it hard to trust male doctors and it even affected her friendships with men.
“Poignantly, when asked how she felt about the incident two-and-a-half years later, the victim testified that the case and her experience in court made her feel like she had been ‘raped again’,” the prosecutor added.
The defence, led by Mr Edmond Pereira, said that Wee “maintains his innocence on the charges”. They, however, said that the sentence the prosecution had asked for was “lengthy”.
The high-profile trial, which began in April last year and lasted 15 days, saw witnesses including Wee, his wife and various doctors taking the stand.
He is now out on bail of S$200,000 pending appeal proceedings.
For sexual assault by penetration, Wee could have been jailed up to 20 years and fined. For using criminal force to molest his victim, he could have been jailed up to two years and/or fined.
CATCH UP ON THE INS AND OUTS OF THE TRIAL:
Day 1:
Victim takes stand in trial for doctor charged with raping patient
Day 5:
Victim paid 20 visits to doctor accused of raping her; mum unaware
Day 6:
Doctor accused of rape: No conclusive evidence found on his and alleged victim’s clothing
Day 7:
Doctor accused of rape: Victim’s injuries could have been due to other causes, defence argues
Day 8:
Doctor accused of rape: Defence claims investigation officer ‘made up evidence’
Day 9:
Doctor accused of rape did not have chaperone in room as he was ‘caught off guard’
Day 10:
Doctor quizzed in court for keeping quiet over wrong underwear seized by police
Day 11:
Doctor ‘concocted’ lubricant story as an excuse in case his DNA was found on rape victim: DPP
Day 13:
Doctor's wife says he could not have raped patient due to erectile dysfunction
Day 14:
Erectile dysfunction made it ‘extremely difficult’ for doctor accused of rape to have sex, says urologist
Day 15:
Doctor accused of rape: Medical experts give conflicting interpretations of erectile dysfunction report
