Nurse convicted of molesting male patient at a clinic

SINGAPORE — A nurse who was then working at a clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre has been convicted of molesting a male patient after the latter went through medical procedures in 2018.

On Feb 20, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt found Ivan Lee Yi Wang, 35, guilty of two molestation charges following a trial.

The victim, then 26, cannot be named due to a gag order.

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

An online search of registered healthcare professionals in Singapore on Feb 20 reveals that he is still a nurse who is 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 medicines 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 went 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 and 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 on the matter.

He went to the clinic for the third time on Oct 31, 2018, and saw Lee was wearing a white top with dark-coloured trousers. The man went through an endoscopy later that day at the hospital.

In earlier proceedings, DPP Fernandez said that after the procedure, the victim was taken to the recovery ward in the hospital's Endoscopy Centre.

On two separate occasions soon after, Lee molested the victim who alerted the other nurses and told them about what had happened.

In her submissions, the DPP said: "(The victim) did not see the man's face but saw that the man was dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers.

"There were no other male persons the victim had seen in the endoscopy centre at the material time that day with the same attire as the accused. The only other male person the victim had seen was (the doctor) who was in doctor's scrubs."

Lee is represented by lawyers Peter Low, Christine Low and Nelson Chee from Peter Low Chambers.

The court heard that Lee had lied to a doctor that he had not entered the victim's room.

Later, he claimed that he entered the room only once to dispense medicine.

The DPP said in her submissions: "We say that the accused's motivation for these lies is clearly his realisation of guilt, and a fear of incriminating himself by having gone into the victim's room for an illegitimate purpose."

Lee's bail was set at $15,000 on Feb 20. His mitigation and sentencing are expected to take place on March 12.

For each count of molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.