1 week ago
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SINGAPORE: A Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) physician repeatedly took obscene photos of unwitting female patients who lay down on a bed while receiving treatment.
During these treatments - which included acupuncture, guasha and cupping - Liew Meng Fatt would position himself in a manner where he could secretly photograph under their skirts, their breasts or their buttocks - even when chaperones were present.
Liew's offences came to an end after his wife, who found the illicit media on his hard disk, lodged a police report.
Liew, a 57-year-old Singaporean, was jailed for a year on Tuesday (Apr 8) after he pleaded guilty to three charges of voyeurism with four similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing.
He is currently still registered with the TCM Practitioners Board but has been suspended from practising.
The victims, along with the name of the TCM clinics, cannot be published due to a gag order in place.
There were a total of nine victims, all above 40 years old, in the charges Liew pleaded guilty to.
LIEW TOOK ADVANTAGE OF PATIENTS RECEIVING TREATMENT
At the time of the offences between 2019 and 2022, Liew worked as a senior technical sales specialist, who also volunteered part-time as a TCM physician at two clinics, where the offences were committed.
Five female victims at one of the clinics were Liew's regular patients. These patients would typically lie face down during treatments.
Liew admitted that he would see the opportunity to prey on them at this point.
Seeing them in this vulnerable position would "excite" and "trigger" Liew to take illicit photos, the prosecution said in court documents.
Liew would take the photos surreptitiously, in some instances standing at the victims' feet or behind their backs as they lay down. He would then proceed to carry out his treatment.
On some occasions, Liew would take the photos even if a family member of the victim was in the room. One of the victims' husband was with her for every session.
After this, Liew would sit in his own car and view the photos for his own pleasure. He would subsequently transfer the photos to his laptop for storage.
He would also edit the image, such as brighten it, if was unclear.
At the other clinic, Liew used a similar modus operandi on four victims who regularly visited the clinic.
LIEW'S WIFE SURRENDERED HIS DEVICES
Liew's wife discovered the material when she viewed his hard disk on Nov 12, 2022. These were upskirt photos, photos of women changing, and of lingerie hanging on racks, in addition to other videos.
She lodged a police report two days later and surrendered a few hard disks, mobile phones and a laptop belonging to Liew. The police seized one more laptop during a raid of Liew's residence.
In addition to 391 pornographic video files, at least 137 voyeuristic photos that Liew took were found.
Liew gave compensation of S$1,000 (US$740) each to two victims on Oct 25, 2024 after he had been charged and a plea offer extended to him.
The prosecution sought 12 to 16 months' jail while the defence, represented by IRB Law's Pang Khin Wee, asked for less.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeo Kee Hwan said that Liew had "blatantly abused the trust placed in him as a TCM physician by multiple women who sought relief from the pain and discomfort that their chronic conditions had plagued them with".
Mr Pang told the court Liew's wife had confronted him after finding the material. The couple then argued and then agreed that Liew's wife would report the matter.
This was not a case where the victim reported the crime, Mr Pang said.
Mr Pang said that a private psychiatrist had diagnosed Liew with fetishistic disorder, and had cited a causal link between this condition and his offences.
However, the Institute of Mental Health assessed that Liew had voyeuristic disorder with no causal link to the offences.
Liew has since taken steps to ensure that he is properly treated so that he would not reoffend, Mr Pang said.
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