SINGAPORE: A male nurse at a hospital in Singapore molested a patient last year while attending to her in the ward, stopping only when a female nurse walked in. When she left, he continued.
The 26-year-old man was on Thursday (Sep 26) sentenced to 10 months' jail and three strokes of the cane for molesting the victim.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe court heard that the victim had medical issues including kidney stones and depression.
At about 6pm on Aug 28, 2018, she had pressed a button to call for assistance, meaning to tell the medical staff about her depression.
The accused, who cannot be named due to a gag order preventing the publishing of anything that could identify the victim, attended to her as he had been placed in charge of the room.
He spoke to her and used his right hand to hold onto her hand while using the other to touch her forehead, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Bjorn Tan.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHe then used both hands to massage the woman's breasts, both over and under her clothes.
"The victim was in shock and did not know what to do," said the prosecutor.
When a female nurse entered the room suddenly, the accused withdrew his hands to place them on the victim's stomach and asked her if she felt pain there.
The victim kept quiet, but after the female nurse left, the accused continued massaging her again.
He asked her how she felt and if she needed him to "massage any other parts". He also asked her if the massage was good, the court heard.
The victim replied "no" to both questions.
The nurse smiled and left.
After she composed herself, the patient approached a female nurse to report the incident.
The accused pleaded guilty on Thursday to one charge of using criminal force to the victim to outrage her modesty.
His defence lawyer Beverly Lim had told the court that her client "regrets his foolish behaviour and is deeply ashamed of his actions".
She added that he has "an unblemished record", with this being his first brush with the law.
For molesting the woman, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or given any combination of these punishments.
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