TCM Physician Jailed for Taking Voyeuristic Photos of Female Patients During Treatment

By
Siti Hajar
-
Advertisements
 

A 57-year-old Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) physician who secretly photographed his female patients in compromising positions during treatment has been sentenced to jail.

Liew Meng Fatt, who volunteered part-time at two TCM clinics while working as a senior technical sales specialist, was sentenced to 12 months’ jail on 8 Apr after pleading guilty to three charges of voyeurism.

Exploiting Treatment Sessions for Voyeuristic Acts

Between 2019 and 2022, Liew took advantage of his position as a TCM physician to photograph unsuspecting female patients who were receiving treatments such as acupuncture, guasha, and cupping.

Advertisements
 

Court documents revealed that Liew specifically targeted patients when they were lying face down on the treatment bed.

The prosecution noted that seeing patients in this helpless state would “excite” and “trigger” Liew to take illicit photos.

He would position himself strategically—either standing at the victims’ feet or behind their backs—to capture images under their skirts, of their breasts, or their buttocks.

All nine victims identified in the charges were above 40 years old. Five of the victims at one clinic were Liew’s regular patients.

What’s particularly shocking is that Liew carried out these acts even when others were present in the treatment room. In one case, he took photos of a victim despite her husband being present during every session.

After each incident, Liew would sit in his car to view the photos for his own pleasure before transferring them to his laptop.

He would sometimes edit the images, making them brighter if they were unclear.

Discovery, Investigation and Legal Consequences

Liew’s voyeuristic activities only stopped when his wife discovered the material on his hard disk on 12 Nov 2022.

Advertisements
 

She found upskirt photos, images of women changing, and pictures of lingerie hanging on racks, among other content.

Two days later, on 14 Nov 2022, she lodged a police report and surrendered several hard disks, mobile phones, and a laptop belonging to her husband. Police later seized an additional laptop during a raid of Liew’s residence.

Digital forensic examination uncovered at least 137 voyeuristic photos taken by Liew, along with 391 pornographic video files.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeo Kee Hwan argued that Liew had “blatantly abused the trust placed in him as a TCM physician by multiple women who sought relief from the pain and discomfort that their chronic conditions had plagued them with.”

The prosecution sought 12 to 16 months’ jail, while the defence, represented by IRB Law’s Pang Khin Wee, asked for a shorter sentence.

Advertisements
 

The defence counsel noted that Liew’s wife had confronted him after finding the material, and they had agreed that she would report the matter.

Mr Pang also stated that a private psychiatrist had diagnosed Liew with fetishistic disorder, citing a causal link between this condition and his offences.

However, the Institute of Mental Health assessed that Liew had voyeuristic disorder with no causal link to the offences.

After being charged, Liew paid compensation of S$1,000 each to two victims on 25 Oct 2024.

While Liew is still registered with the TCM Practitioners Board, he has been suspended from practice. He was previously a director of the Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine between May 2016 and May 2019.

Advertisements
 

The identities of the victims and the names of the TCM clinics cannot be published due to a gag order in place.

For each count of voyeurism, an offender can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of such punishments.

Liew cannot be caned as he is over 50 years old.

These five GRCs could see the tightest battle in GE2025; here’s why:

Read Also:


 
Siti Hajar