SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to 15 months' jail on Friday (Mar 14) for molesting a male patient while taking his blood pressure.
Danisha Nur Delisa Dewa, 36, was a basic care assistant at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital attending to the victim at the time of his offence.
He had been found guilty of a single charge of molest following a trial.
On Jan 27, 2023, the victim - who cannot be named due to a gag order - was at the hospital's ambulatory ward for a right shoulder surgery. He was seated on a recliner chair dressed in a hospital gown.
Danisha approached the victim at about 2.30pm to 3pm, under the pretext of checking his vital signs, according to the prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ethan Lee.
Danisha then drew the curtain around the chair, lifted the victim's hospital gown and asked if he was wearing underwear. He did so to test the victim's reaction to an intrusive action, Mr Lee said.
After Danisha placed a blood pressure band around the victim's right arm and started the blood pressure machine, he pressed the victim's private parts three times while asking if the victim felt any pain.
The victim initially thought this was part of the medical procedure. But he later realised that it was not, as other nurses had not done so. He also asked other staff in order to find out if the contact was normal.
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital previously said that Danisha left his post on Jun 23, 2023 after completing his employment contract.
Mr Lee argued that Danisha had drawn the curtain to hide his actions, and that his queries to the victim were to disguise the molest as part of normal medical procedure.
Danisha's defence was a bare denial of the offences. He said that he approached the victim to take his vital signs, but denied drawing the curtain fully, lifting the patient's hospital gown or pressing on his private parts.
He suggested that the victim made up the allegations as he was "homophobic" and Danisha was "a LGBTQ" (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer).
The prosecution sought 15 to 18 months' jail, citing several aggravating factors. Danisha had abused his position of trust and used deception to commit the offence, Mr Lee said.
"The victim stated that the offence was 'shocking' and 'unexpected' to him, and that he felt 'ashamed to talk about it', 'uncomfortable' and 'uneasy', Mr Lee added.
For molest, Danisha could have been jailed up to three years, fined, caned, or punished with any combination of the penalties.
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Danisha Nur Delisa Dewa, 36, was a basic care assistant at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital attending to the victim at the time of his offence.
He had been found guilty of a single charge of molest following a trial.
On Jan 27, 2023, the victim - who cannot be named due to a gag order - was at the hospital's ambulatory ward for a right shoulder surgery. He was seated on a recliner chair dressed in a hospital gown.
Danisha approached the victim at about 2.30pm to 3pm, under the pretext of checking his vital signs, according to the prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ethan Lee.
Danisha then drew the curtain around the chair, lifted the victim's hospital gown and asked if he was wearing underwear. He did so to test the victim's reaction to an intrusive action, Mr Lee said.
After Danisha placed a blood pressure band around the victim's right arm and started the blood pressure machine, he pressed the victim's private parts three times while asking if the victim felt any pain.
The victim initially thought this was part of the medical procedure. But he later realised that it was not, as other nurses had not done so. He also asked other staff in order to find out if the contact was normal.
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital previously said that Danisha left his post on Jun 23, 2023 after completing his employment contract.
Mr Lee argued that Danisha had drawn the curtain to hide his actions, and that his queries to the victim were to disguise the molest as part of normal medical procedure.
Danisha's defence was a bare denial of the offences. He said that he approached the victim to take his vital signs, but denied drawing the curtain fully, lifting the patient's hospital gown or pressing on his private parts.
He suggested that the victim made up the allegations as he was "homophobic" and Danisha was "a LGBTQ" (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer).
The prosecution sought 15 to 18 months' jail, citing several aggravating factors. Danisha had abused his position of trust and used deception to commit the offence, Mr Lee said.
"The victim stated that the offence was 'shocking' and 'unexpected' to him, and that he felt 'ashamed to talk about it', 'uncomfortable' and 'uneasy', Mr Lee added.
For molest, Danisha could have been jailed up to three years, fined, caned, or punished with any combination of the penalties.
Continue reading...