Doctor who allegedly molested female patient testifies there was no skin-to-skin contact with her
SINGAPORE - A general practitioner accused of molesting a female patient has denied having any skin-to-skin contact with the alleged victim while he was examining her.
Testifying on Thursday (22 August), Dr Lui Weng Sun, 45, said that he could not remember the then 24-year-old victim consulting him, given the large number of patients at his clinic on the day of the alleged incident in 2017.
“I cannot remember anything about her, there were 70 patients that day, effectively 47 before this patient, all about the same symptoms same complaints,” said Lui. The day on 6 November 2017 was also a Monday, typically a busy day for clinic doctors, he added.
Lui, who formerly practised at Northeast Medical Group Clinic at Block 39 Jalan Tiga, is accused of one count of molesting the victim, a Vietnamese student, by turning her left bra cup outwards, placing a stethoscope on her left breast, and touching her nipple with his finger.
His charge was amended by the prosecution on Thursday. The original charge stated that he had pulled down the victim’s bra cup before molesting her.
Lui, who is married with three children, was asked to leave the clinic after he was charged. He now works as a locum in other clinics, as well as in another practice he shares with a partner.
The doctor denied all the allegations that the victim had earlier testified to during the trial.
On the day of the incident, the woman allegedly visited Lui in the afternoon complaining of a sore throat, fever and a runny nose.
She alleged that after Lui examined her with his stethoscope on her back, he asked her to turn before placing the stethoscope on the left side of her torso, slightly below her collarbone.
Remarking on the allegation, Lui said “That would sound medically absurd, I would not just listen to one side but two sides.”
Shashi Nathan, Lui’s lawyer, said, “According to her, you then asked her in English to lift up her shirt.” Lui then allegedly placed the stethoscope on her chest above her left breast. The court heard earlier from the victim’s 44-year-old boyfriend that the woman was in Singapore taking English lessons and could converse in Mandarin.
Lui said in reply, “There is no reason for me to ask her in English, I can speak adequately in Mandarin, I did not ask her to lift up (her) shirt.
“There was no skin to skin contact. I would listen to chest over clothes, so the clothes are between the skin and the stethoscope.”
The exchange was later interrupted by a clinic assistant who entered to pass Lui some forms. After the assistant left, Lui supposedly pulled up her shirt and then molested her.
Responding to the allegation that he pressed the woman’s nipple, Lui said, “I definitely did not do such a ridiculous thing. There is no medical reason to put stethoscope on nipple. We were told in school to avoid it as much as possible as it was a very sensitive area, only in specialised breast examination.”
After Lui left for a shift in another clinic that evening, he received a call from the clinic assistant who said that the woman’s boyfriend, who was at the clinic, was unhappy and demanded an explanation for an “improper examination”.
Lui spoke to the man twice over the phone.
Recounting their phone conversations, Lui said, “(The boyfriend) mentioned things about ‘I don’t know about you doctors, you have money and lawyer...I’ve already gone to police station to enquire but did not make police report’.
“He kept saying ‘jiao dai’… in Mandarin it also sounds like a request for compensation.”
The boyfriend did not mention the details of the alleged molest during their conversations, according to Lui. When Lui heard the details during his first police interview on 8 November 2017, he said that he was “shocked”.
“I don’t know why a patient accused me of such ridiculous acts. I would never do such a thing anywhere. The place is so open...I don’t know why she would lie. I have no idea why he (the boyfriend) also lie.”
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