Engineer on molest trial

(Singapore) AN INFORMATION technology engineer is now in court for attempting to outrage the modesty of a doctor.

Pham Thai Ha, 30, is accused of holding her shoulders and trying to kiss her while being treated for a rash on a finger in June last year. He is also alleged to have used criminal force on her by holding her left hand and pulling her towards him during the same consultation.

The Vietnamese national and Singapore permanent resident is denying both charges. The court has ordered that the identity of the doctor not be revealed. On the first day of the trial on Tuesday, a district court heard that Pham, then working for StarHub, came to the clinic at 2.40pm on June 6 last year. She was the only doctor at the clinic then.

Testifying, the doctor said that after she had prescribed antibiotic cream for the rash on Pham's finger, he complained about a rash on his buttocks. She told him to remove his clothes for an examination but found no rash.

The doctor alleged that he had an erection and it was then he reached for her left hand and tried to tug it towards him. She said she pulled away and told him to dress while she went to her table to write the case notes.

After putting on his clothes, he went behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, leaned down and said that he liked her very much. He then tried to kiss her, she said. Pham is represented by lawyer P.E. Ashokan. The trial is set for three days.

Source: The Straitstimes Online