A former Singaporean surgeon was sentenced to one week in jail on Tuesday (Jan 27) for molesting a woman on the operating table after performing a colonoscopy and treatment for piles. The doctor cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the then-20-year-old victim. He was 72 at the time.
The gag order also extends to the private hospital where the incident occurred. The prosecution had sought four to six weeks of jail but agreed with the defence that judicial mercy should be considered because the offender suffers from terminal cancer. Checks by CNA confirmed he is no longer listed as a doctor on the Singapore Medical Council website.
Details of the Molestation
The doctor had contested one charge of outraging the modesty of the woman on Dec 24, 2021. According to the prosecution, he touched her chest while she lay on the operating table, sedated after a colonoscopy and treatment for piles. This was supposedly under the guise of a clinical breast examination and was witnessed by two nurses who were shocked and immediately escalated the matter to supervisors.
At trial, the man claimed he had either implied or express consent from the victim. District Judge Shawn Ho rejected this, stating the patient was drowsy and unable to give consent. The judge also said there was “no medical basis for him to examine her breasts after a colonoscopy in the operating room when the clinical diagnosis was bleeding piles.”
Witness Testimonies
Two nurses testified that the doctor used both hands to molest the victim under her gown. A medical expert said a proper clinical breast exam requires exposure of both breasts, inspection, palpation, and checking for discharge, normally taking 15 to 30 seconds, and cannot be done beneath a hospital gown.
One nurse who assisted the doctor around ten times a year said she had never seen him perform a breast exam before. Judge Ho concluded that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Judicial Mercy and Sentencing
The defence presented a medical report showing the doctor suffers from incurable fourth-stage prostate cancer, with six to 12 months to live. Both prosecution and defence agreed that judicial mercy was appropriate in this exceptional circumstance. Judge Ho acknowledged the “profound tension” between the abuse of trust and the offender’s terminal illness, which includes metastasis to bones, lymph nodes, and lungs.
The doctor began his one-week jail term immediately. He cannot be caned because he is over 50, and for molestation, he could have faced up to two years in jail and a fine.
