A doctor was on his residency training when he decided to record a female doctor at the hospital showering in a unisex toilet.

The trainee doctor, Chen Hsing Yu, tried using a mobile phone to record her from under the shower door, but was unsuccessful.

He also got caught in the act by a nurse.

Chen subsequently had his residency cut short after the victim lodged a report against him for voyeurism.

He has also had his medical licence suspended for three months, as the result of a disciplinary tribunal by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC), according to a report dated May. 8, 2024.

Caught trying to film showering female doctor

The incident took place on Apr. 17, 2020.

Somewhere between 5:20 and 6:30pm, the victim, a female doctor, had finished her rounds at the isolation ward there and went to bathe at an ensuite unisex shower at another ward.

While she was showering, Chen tried to record her through the gap in the shower door, but "stopped just short of actually doing so".

Court documents did not elaborate on the failed attempt by Chen.

The victim went home none the wiser, but was told by a colleague the next day that a nurse had spotted Chen trying to record her.

Residency terminated

The victim then lodged a police report against Chen upon the advice of the management.

A few days later, on Apr. 29, 2020, Chen’s residency training at the hospital was terminated.

Chen was subsequently fired by MOH Holdings (MOHH) for misconduct.

He was also investigated by the police for voyeurism, and had to serve a 24-month conditional warning period from June 2021.

Chen eventually resumed his practice at a different medical institution from September 2022, after getting approval from SMC to do so.

Not the first time

The tribunal also took into account a similar offence committed by Chen in 2014, when he was a medical student in Australia.

When applying for a provisional registration in 2015, Chen told SMC that he had filmed a three-second long video of a female medical student when she was using the unisex toilet in a hospital on Apr. 23, 2014.

He later deleted the video, wrote an apology to the student and went for counselling.

The student did not press charges.

Found to be 'prone to voyeuristic behaviour with females'

Nevertheless, the medical school notified Australian authorities of the incident and Chen had to attend an Impaired Registrants Panel Inquiry (IRP) in June 2015.

The IRP assessed that Chen suffered from a personality structure which made him "prone to voyeuristic behaviour with females", and opined that this could affect the safety of the public as well as his capacity to practice medicine.

He was asked to enter a health programme for impaired practitioners, and was required to undergo treatment by a general practitioner and psychiatrist in order to still be registered as a student.

Chen later exited the programme in February 2016, upon the recommendations of a panel reviewing his case.

Brought disrepute to medical profession: SMC

At the tribunal, SMC sought to suspend Chen's medical licence for eight months, citing that his actions had "brought disrepute to the medical profession" and "undermined the collegiate bond between medical practitioners".

While Chen ultimately failed to record the victim, SMC's lawyers said that his attempt was "intentional" and deemed that his failure to do so was "entirely fortuitous".

"Clearly, (Chen) has a propensity for filming female medical practitioners without their consent in a hospital setting, and it is imperative that he be deterred from attempting to do this a third time,” the lawyers said.

He was depressed and stressed during pandemic: Defence

In mitigation, the defence argued that Chen’s attempt was not premeditated but "arose spontaneously" when he was depressed and under immense pressure from dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic as a young doctor.

The defence also highlighted that Chen admitted to the act, and had also disclosed the previous incident in 2014.

Additionally, the defence said that Chen had taken steps towards rehabilitation, such as going for professional therapy at his own expense, doing a fitness regime, taking on volunteer work, and seeking support from his church and family.

As such, they deemed that he "had been rehabilitated and there was no foreseeable risk of re-offending".

Likelihood of similar future offence 'extremely remote': Tribunal

Ultimately, the tribunal adjudged that Chen's act was an "attempt" with no filming actually made, and found "an absence of premeditation on his part".

While SMC had asked for a longer suspension for Chen given his first offence in 2014, the tribunal rejected this on the grounds that "he was a student rather than a fully qualified practitioner" and "would not be subject to the same regime and expectations".

The tribunal also agreed with the assessment of Chen's psychiatrist in a 2022 report that his likelihood of committing a similar future offence is "extremely remote".

Chen was given a three-month suspension, a sentence at the lowest end of the range, and issued with a censure.

He also had to provide a written undertaking to SMC that he would not engage in the conduct or any similar conduct in future, and had to pay all costs and expenses of the legal proceedings.

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