Dr Cheung Kai-shuen, one of Hong Kong's top anesthetists, is now on trial after he was reported for groping and pinching his pregnant patient's breasts and nipples to check if they were anesthetized,
Hong Kong's Medical Council charged Dr Cheung with 8 counts of professional misconduct after employees at St Paul's Hospital blew the lid on him. St Paul's is a private hospital in Causeway Bay.
According to the South China Morning Post, Dr Cheung was determining his patients' sedation levels while they were undergoing caeserian deliveries. Two nurses who worked with him testified during the hearing that Dr Cheung had used his bare hands to touch a patient's left nipple.
Speaking as an expert witness on the case, consultant anesthesiologist Dr Frances Lui denounced Dr Cheung's actions as unnecessary.
She said: "Nipples and breasts are very private parts of a patient. I do not feel it is necessary to do a sensibility test on the nipples and breasts. We can do it below the breasts instead of touching the breasts directly."
Dr Lui further added that doctors must seek patients' consent before the operation should such a test be necessary and that a medical instrument should be used as bare hands could transmit bacteria to mother and child.
However, Dr Lui added that a sensibility test by hand was not scientifically wrong, just inappropriate.
The hearing continues today.
Editor's Note:
Do you have a story to share? Please use our submission form or email us at editorial@allsingaporestuff.com. If not, why not give us a 'Like'?