General practitioner on trial over alleged rape, molest of 23-year-old patient
A 67-year-old general practitioner is on trial for allegedly raping a university student in 2015 while she was lying on the examination table in his clinic.
Wee Teong Boo also stands accused of molesting the same woman, who was 23 at the time of the offences, during an earlier consultation. Wee, who owns Wee’s Clinic and Surgery in Bedok North, denied both charges that were read out to him at the High Court on Monday (30 April) – the first day of his trial.
The victim, who is now 26, cannot be named to protect her identity. Prior to the offences, she had been visiting Wee for a year to seek help for gastric and acne issues.
According to the prosecution, the alleged molestation occurred on 25 November 2015 when the woman consulted Wee for gastric discomfort. Wee directed her to an adjacent examination room and instructed her to lie down. He then asked her to unbuckle and unzip her jeans.
During the examination, Wee stroked the woman’s private parts, making her feel uneasy. However, she did not report what had happened as she trusted Wee and assumed that his actions were part of the examination.
The woman returned to the clinic on 30 December at about 11.30pm to consult Wee as she had been experiencing frequent urination and an itch on her private parts. She also asked for her routine gastric medication.
Following Wee’s instructions, the woman again lay on the examination table and pulled up her T-shirt to let Wee examine her abdomen. While on the table, Wee allegedly pushed the woman’s shorts lower and rubbed her vagina over her underwear. He then asked the woman if that was the itchy part he talked about and she said it was.
Wee then asked the woman to pull down her shorts and underwear to examine her private parts. The woman pulled them down to her thigh level but Wee removed them completely.
Wee then repositioned the woman on the examination bed until he stood between her legs. It is around this time that Wee allegedly began raping the woman.
The woman will testify that she heard the sound of a zipper and felt something come into contact her vagina, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz.
When the woman complained of pain, Wee allegedly repositioned her body – which is when she saw that Wee’s pants were unzipped and that she was being raped.
Shocked by the sight, the woman gestured at Wee to stop. He then turned his back to her and she heard a zipper being drawn.
The woman then got dressed and returned to the consultation room where Wee briefed her about her medication. She then visited the clinic’s toilet to urinate and found she was bleeding from her vagina.
Over the night, the woman experienced pain and also found bloodstains when she used the toilet. She later told her mother what had happened, after the latter found her tossing in bed in the early hours of the morning.
The woman’s mother, who is one of the prosecution’s 15 witnesses, will testify to her daughter’s agitation during their conversation, said DPP Sharmila.
The woman made a police report on 31 December and underwent a medical examination at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She was found to have have small superficial tears around her vagina and a shallow fresh tear of her hymen.
The woman was the first witness to take the stand on Monday and testified in camera. The current tranche of the trial is slated to run until Friday.
If convicted of rape, Wee faces up to 20 years’ jail and a fine. If found guilty for outraging the modesty of the woman, he could be jailed up to two years and fined. He cannot be caned for either offence as he is above 50 years old.
