Doctor who groped patient’s breasts after she complained of back pain jailed for nine months

Woman also testified Lee put his hand down her jeans during the same consultation

Mitigation letters from confused family members and surprised patients depicted Dr John Lee as good husband and father, dedicated to his practice and patients

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Dr John Lee Young-king (left) was found guilty of indecent assault earlier in December after a 24-year-old woman accused him of slipping his hands into her bra while checking for scoliosis. Photo: SCMP

Published: 3:24pm, 19 Dec 2018Updated: 5:40pm, 19 Dec 2018

A Hong Kong doctor who groped a patient’s breasts after she had complained of back pain was jailed for nine months on Wednesday.

Dr John Lee Young-king, 49, was found guilty of indecent assault earlier in December after a 24-year-old woman accused him of slipping his hands into her bra eight times while checking for scoliosis – a condition that causes the spine to curve from side to side.

The patient also testified Lee put his hand down her jeans, touching her lower abdomen, during the same consultation at his clinic on March 13 this year.

Mitigation letters from confused family members and surprised patients depicted Lee as a good husband and father, dedicated to his practice and his patients.

But magistrate Raymond Wong Kwok-fai noted the case involved a serious breach of trust that had been placed in the doctor since the woman first became his patient at the age of 11.

He also pointed out that Lee had planned to cover up the assault by intentionally placing his hands in a way that made the woman mistakenly believe he was performing standard procedure.