16 months' jail, caning for nurse who molested male patient at a hospital

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib

SINGAPORE - A nurse who was working at a clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre when he molested a male patient was sentenced to 16 months' jail and four strokes of the cane on March 12.

Ivan Lee Yi Wang, 35, had targeted the patient after the latter had undergone medical procedures in 2018.

On Feb 20, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt convicted Lee of two molestation charges following a trial. The victim, then 26, cannot be named due to a gag order.

Healthcare provider Parkway Pantai, which runs Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, told The Straits Times in 2021 that Lee had been hired by the clinic independently and was not a hospital staff member.

An online search of registered healthcare professionals here on March 12 revealed he is still a nurse currently working at another facility.

In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Stacey Anne Fernandez said that Lee was a clinic nurse manager at the time of the offences.

His role involved administrative duties including scheduling of appointments and assisting in dispensing medicine when patients were discharged.

The DPP also told Judge Chay that Lee's job scope did not necessitate any physical contact or physical examination of patients.

The victim, who took the stand on the first day of the trial on Feb 22, 2021, had testified that he had gone to the Gutcare clinic some time in either late September or early October 2018 as he had some "stomach issues".

He met Lee for the first time there, and the nurse registered his visit.

The court heard that the man visited the clinic for the second time in early October that year but did not think he interacted with Lee at the time.

He added that Lee later used his personal mobile phone to send him a text message via WhatsApp about a follow-up appointment.

The man had testified during the trial that he felt it was strange that the message came from a personal number and did not reply to it. Instead, he called the clinic's landline about the matter.

He went to the clinic for the third time on Oct 31, 2018, and went through an endoscopy later that day.

DPP Fernandez had said that after the procedure, the victim was taken to the recovery ward in the hospital's endoscopy centre.