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Doctor accused of rape: Victim’s injuries could have been due to other causes, defence argues

SINGAPORE — The day after general practitioner Wee Teong Boo allegedly raped a 23-year-old woman, a public hospital doctor examined her and found injuries consistent with her account of events.

Wee Teong Boo (second from left)  seen at the Supreme Court on April 30, 2018.

Wee Teong Boo (second from left) seen at the Supreme Court on April 30, 2018.

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SINGAPORE — The day after general practitioner Wee Teong Boo allegedly raped a 23-year-old woman, a public hospital doctor examined her and found injuries consistent with her account of events.

Dr Janice Tung's testimony on Tuesday (May 8), the seventh day of the trial, was however challenged by Wee's lawyer, who said the injuries could have been due to other reasons such as his client inserting his fingers into her private parts as part of a medical examination.

The victim, who cannot be named due to a court gag order, suffered two small, superficial split-skin wounds on her private parts, as well as a very shallow tear of her hymen, said Dr Tung, an associate consultant at the obstetrics and gynaecology department of KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

The wounds were consistent with the victim saying she had no previous sexual encounters before the alleged rape, as well as the victim's version of events, Dr Tung told the court.

The woman, who was a student at the time, has accused Wee of raping her on Dec 30, 2015, during a late-night consultation at his clinic, Wee's Clinic & Surgery, at Bedok North Avenue 2. She was allegedly getting her lower abdomen checked by Wee when she felt him molest her, before he proceeded to rape her.

Dr Tung said she found the victim to have bacterial vaginosis, a common vaginal infection caused by the excessive growth of bacteria.

Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz what could possibly cause the infection, Dr Tung pointed to "many things" such as douching.

However, during cross-examination, Wee's lawyer Edmond Pereira raised other possible scenarios and reasons for the injuries and infection.

He asked Dr Tung if stretching during exercise could cause the hymen to tear.

While it was possible, the small superficial wounds would have healed "very fast" — within a matter of hours or days, Dr Tung answered.

The wounds could also have been caused by someone inserting his fingers into the victim's private parts, Dr Tung acknowledged.

According to Mr Pereira, Wee had seen redness around the victim's itchy area on the night of the alleged incident and decided to do some investigations to rule out pelvic inflammatory disease.

Wee inserted his fingers, and the victim then informed him that she felt slight discomfort, Mr Pereira said.

Wee diagnosed her with pelvic inflammatory disease and prescribed antibiotics, the defence lawyer added.

According to Dr Tung, however, pelvic inflammatory disease is "rare in non-sexually active people".

To Mr Pereira's suggestion that the victim could have sustained her injuries by rubbing her private parts to relieve the itch, she replied: "Possible, but not likely."

The exchange between the defence and witness turned testy when Mr Pereira accused Dr Tung of being biased and embellishing evidence. Dr Tung had omitted mention that bacterial vaginosis could be caused by having more than one sexual partner, he said.

Mr Pereira also questioned why the victim had only suffered a shallow tear and small wounds, if Wee had indeed subjected her to multiple forceful thrusts during the alleged rape, as she had claimed.

Dr Tung did not record the number of thrusts in her medical report, he said, going on to accuse her of embellishing evidence to suit the prosecution's case. Dr Tung said the number of thrusts did not matter.

DPP Sharmila objected to the questioning and Dr Tung later said she was "affronted" by the defence's accusations.

On the first day of the trial last week, the court had heard that the victim was a regular patient of Wee's, having seen him for a year for her gastric and acne issues. On the day of the incident, she was seeking treatment for frequent urination and an itch.

The trial continues tomorrow before Justice Chua Lee Ming, with the prosecution calling its last witness, an investigation officer.

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