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SINGAPORE, Feb. 22 (The Straits Times / ANN): A nurse working at a clinic at the Mount Elizabeth Ninth Center for Specialists is accused of sexually abusing a male patient while recovering from a day procedure.
Ivan Lee Yi Wang, now 32, is said to have targeted the man twice on October 31, 2018 at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital on Irrawaddy Road near Balestier. The specialist center is located inside the hospital.
The Singaporean faces two counts of sexual abuse and claimed trial on Monday (February 22).
The 26-year-old alleged victim cannot be named due to a gag order.
Assistant District Attorney Stacey Anne Fernandez said that at the time of the alleged crimes, Lee was a nursing manager for a clinic. Her role included administrative duties, including scheduling appointments and assisting in dispensing medications when patients were discharged.
The DPP told District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt: “The defendant’s scope of work never involved any physical contact or physical examination of the patients at any time.”
Upon taking the stand on the first day of Lee’s trial, the alleged victim told Judge Chay that she went to the Gutcare clinic sometime in late September or early October 2018 because she had some “stomach problems.”
There she met Lee for the first time and the nurse recorded her visit.
The court heard that the man visited the clinic a second time in early October of that year and did not believe he interacted with Lee at the time.
But she added that Lee later used her personal mobile phone to text her via WhatsApp on a follow-up appointment.
The man told the court that he felt it was “strange” that the message came from a personal number and did not respond. Instead, he called the clinic’s landline about the matter.
She went to the clinic for the third time on October 31, 2018, and saw that Lee was wearing a white blouse and dark-colored pants. The man underwent an endoscopy that same day at the hospital.
DPP Fernandez said that after the procedure, he was taken to the recovery room at the hospital’s Endoscopy Center.
She added: “(The man) will testify that during the time he was recovering in the room, at first he woke up when he felt (someone touching his private parts).
He also saw a flashlight from what looked like a mobile phone pointed towards his groin area. He managed to spot a man dressed in a white T-shirt and dark pants. He turned his body and the caresses stopped. “
The court heard that the man was allegedly sexually abused a second time that same day. She then alerted the other nurses and told them what had happened.
The DPP said: “The physicians to be called will testify that the defendant had no reason to be in (the patient’s) room except for administrative matters, including dispensing medication and assisting with the patient’s discharge.”
Lee is represented by attorneys Peter Low and Christine Low.
An online search for registered healthcare professionals in Singapore reveals that he is still a nurse now working in another facility.
Healthcare provider Parkway Pantai, who runs the hospital, told The Straits Times that Lee had been hired by the clinic independently and was not a hospital staff.
His spokesperson added: “We cannot comment further as the matter is before the courts.”
The trial continues.
For each count of sexual abuse, an offender can be imprisoned for up to two years and fined or punished. – The Straits Times / ANN
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