Singapore Dental Council (SDC) has stated in a press release, which was issued on Friday, October 26 that Dr Hoo Swee Tiang, who was convicted for molesting a woman has been suspended for six months.
The accused was charged and convicted in the State Courts of an offence of outrage of modesty under section 354(1) of the Penal Code (Cap. 224) after he was found guilty for touching the rear inner part of a lady's thighs with his hand. He faced six weeks' imprisonment on July 1, 2016, and served his sentence May 11, 2018, after the court rejected his appeal against the sentence.
As per the release, a Disciplinary Committee (DC) was held by the SDC on May 8, 2018 and the council charged that Hoo's conviction of a criminal offence implied "a defect of character which makes him unfit for his profession within the meaning of section 40(1)(b) of the Dental Registration Act (Cap. 76)."
Even though the accused contested the charge, SDC disagreed and ordered a six-month suspension of Hoo's professional duties. The accused was censured in writing and ordered to give an undertaking to abstain from such conduct in the future as well as required to the costs and expenses of and incidental to the Disciplinary Inquiry proceedings, including the costs of the legal assessor.
The release also added that at the end of the suspension and as per the rules for Conditional Registration, Hoo will be "able to apply for full registration after two years of conditional registration, subject to the SDC's approval."
