By Lee Hyo-sik
A 58-year old doctor in Gwangju was taken into custody Monday for having sexually molested female patients while they were anaesthetized for orthopedic treatment.
The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency said the orthopedist is suspected of having sexually assaulted a total of 13 female patients over the past year.
It said the doctor injected psychotropic drugs into patients with pain in their neck, shoulders and back to put them into a state of sleep before treatment.
While his victims were asleep, he is suspected of touching sensitive parts of the patients and performed abnormal acts to fulfill his sexual desires.
Police said given the fact that he has been treating patients this way since December 2003 when he opened his clinic, it is likely that there are more victims of sexual molestation. In 2010 alone, a total of 156 female patients were anesthetized by the orthopedist for treatment.
Of the 13 patients who were found to have been sexually abused, only seven decided to press charges against the doctor.
Among others, a 55-year old woman with a severe back pain was given a psychotropic drug by the orthopedist for interventional muscle and soft tissue stimulation therapy (IMS) on July 29.
The drug is injected to relieve patients of pain during the IMS, but also deprives patients of memory during the procedure.
When she fell asleep, he put his hand inside her pants and touched her "sensitive" part.
One of his female patients became suspicious of his abnormal behavior and concealed a small-side camcorder inside her bag to record what took place during the sleep-induced treatment. It caught the doctor sexually assaulting her when he was alone without an assisting nurse.
Police said the patient started having doubts as she recovered consciousness before the treatment ended.
The doctor made a mistake by administering the same dose of the drug to all patients. To take full effect, the amount of the drug should be adjusted in accordance with the patient's age and other conditions.
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