Wee Teong Boo, a doctor, accused of raping and molesting a patient at his Bedok clinic, walked a free man after the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction and acquitted him of all charges.
Dr Wee, a general practitioner, was earlier found guilty by the High Court of sexually assaulting and molesting a patient. The 69-year-old doctor was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment last year. He went on appeal in the Court of Appeal against the verdict.
Dr Wee, Accused of Inserting Fingers, Penis, Suffers From Erectile Dysfunction
In the first incident, which allegedly took place on 25 November, 2015, a 23-year-old woman visited the doctor complaining of gastric uneasiness. The woman, who was a regular patient of Dr Wee, alleged that the doctor stroked her genital area while examining her. She believed that the examination was part of the standard check-up routine. Later, when examined by another doctor at a polyclinic, a lump was found near her groin area, reported The Straits Times.
A month later, on 30 December, the woman visited the doctor again complaining of frequent urination and itching in her genital area. In her complaint, the woman alleged that Dr Wee stood between her legs and she felt something "poke" her while he was moving and holding both her legs with his hands. "It was only when he pulled her into a semi-upright position that she realized that his genitalia was partly inside her," reported the outlet.
During the trial, Dr Wee's wife testified that he suffered from erectile dysfunction and he could not have raped his patient as his penis was "soft like a noodle even when stimulated," reported Today. In a judgment passed last year, Justice Chua Lee Ming, on the basis of Dr Wee's medical condition, had cleared him of rape charges.
However, Dr Wee was convicted of sexual assault by inserting fingers inside the victim's genitalia. In his defense, the doctor said that he was simply doing an internal pelvic examination, using his saliva as a lubricant, which was rejected. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for sexually molesting a patient .
Court Found Conflicting Theories in Victim's Statement
According to The Straits Times, the bench comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal Steven Chong and Belinda Ang, said they found several aspects of the patient's account difficult to believe.
In his judgment, Menon, while referring to the patient as V, said: "We find it impossible to understand how V could have thought that the alleged conduct of Dr Wee could ever have been explicable on the basis that it was part of a medical examination. How could he possibly have been examining anything if his head and chest were upright and both his hands were supporting V's knees?
"And how could he have been 'poking' anything into V that was related to a medical examination when both his hands were being used to hold V up? And finally, when V sat up and allegedly saw Dr Wee's penis still in her vagina, how could she possibly have imagined that this might be part of the medical examination?" he said.
Stating that the delay of 36 days between the alleged molestation and it being reported was questionable, Menon said: "We have difficulty with this because the alleged sexual assaults were in fact so dissimilar that the events of the alleged rape could not possibly have colored her perception of what had transpired on Nov 25, 2015."
Speaking to The Straits Times, Dr Wee's lawyers said: "We are happy that the hard work put into the case has paid off with an innocent man being acquitted by the court."
