By Our Reporter
A basic care assistant at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) in Jurong was at work in 2023 when he molested a 23-year-old male patient.
Danisha Nur Delisa Dewa, who is no longer working for NTFGH after completing his employment contract, had pressed the man’s private parts while the victim was wearing a hospital gown.
The 36-year-old Singaporean offender was convicted of a molestation charge after a trial and on March 14, he was sentenced to 15 months’ jail.
Before handing out the sentence, Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng said that caning was not imposed in the case as it did not involve skin to skin contact.
However, she stressed that Danisha had abused his position at the hospital and exploited his healthcare role.
In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ethan Lee told Judge Lee that the victim had been diagnosed with os acromiale, a condition in which a part of the shoulder blade fails to fully fuse during development.
This results in a separate bone segment, causing weakness, pain or discomfort.
The man was then slated for undergo a surgery to address this condition.
In the late morning of Jan 27, 2023, he arrived at NTFGH and was taken to a recliner chair.
He put on hospital gown and a pair of disposable underwear before a nurse checked his blood pressure.
Danisha woke him up sometime in the afternoon.
The DPP said: “The accused made small talk with him and asked the victim if the victim wanted to recline his chair. The victim said yes.
“The accused then asked the victim if he was wearing underwear. Before the victim could respond, the accused lifted the victim’s hospital gown to check for himself. The victim initially thought this was part of normal hospital procedure.”
After that, Danisha reclined the victim’s chair and closed the curtain fully around it.
He also placed a blood pressure band around the victim’s right arm and started a blood pressure machine.
The prosecutor said that that while the machine was running, Danisha used his fingers to press on the victim’s private parts over the hospital gown, and asked the younger man if he was feeling any pain.
The victim said no.
Court documents stated that the victim initially thought that what Danisha had done was part of normal procedure.
He later recalled that nurses who had previously taken his blood pressure never pressed on his genitals.
The victim was making his way towards a station nurse when another nurse, who said she was from the operating theatre, approached him.
He told the operating theatre nurse about what had happened and the woman brought the station nurse to speak to him.
The station nurse then told him the act of pressing on his genitalia was not part of normal hospital procedure.
The station nurse also told the victim not to worry and he went for his surgery.
Defence lawyer Teo Choo Kee represented Danisha, who denied molesting the victim.
Danisha who had said that he is a member of the “LGBTQ” (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community, also claimed that the victim made up the allegation against him as the younger man was homophobic.
For molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.
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