Nurse Gets Jail For Molesting And Taking Videos Of Mental Health Patients, Colleagues

A 36-year-old man from Singapore has been sentenced to jail for misusing his position as a nurse and sexually abusing mental health patients under his care.

A former Institute of Mental Health (IMH) nurse was sentenced to four years, nine months and one week in jail on Monday. The man, who remains unnamed due to gag orders imposed by the court, will also receive 10 strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of insulting a woman's modesty and two counts each of molestation and voyeurism. The court also took into account another 34 similar charges during the sentencing.

The man was in charge of monitoring patients who were actively disturbed, mentally ill or suicidal at a high dependency psychiatric care unit. The investigation found that he had molested patients and filmed the offenses. He also abused his then colleagues.

The man, who is married with four children, has been diagnosed with the voyeuristic disorder, reported local news outlet Channel News Asia. The investigation found that he had filmed nine female patients in the ward.

He was also found guilty of molesting a 25-year-old patient who had been restrained in bed. The man also abused another patient who was sedated for aggression.

Although the patients at the center were usually taken care of by nurses of their corresponding gender, he was occasionally asked to monitor patients in the female ward. As part of his duties, he had to monitor patients with suicidal tendencies in the shower.

The police arrested him on March 4 in a separate incident where he was caught taking an upskirt video of a woman on an escalator. The investigators then seized his phones and found out that they had videos of his colleagues changing, patients showering and victims while being molested by him.

In another incident, he posted a fake pregnancy photoshoot advertisement, claiming that the photoshoot was for an IMH presentation. A 26-year-old woman responded to the advertisement and he ended up filming an upskirt video of her without her knowledge, reported local news outlet The Straits Times.

IMH said in a statement that they dismissed the accused on March 11 and that it was taking the incident very seriously.

"We had also reached out to the affected staff and patients, addressed their concerns, and provided support to them. Following the charge in court, we have reminded all staff to adhere to the hospital's code of conduct. We also further tightened our protocol for staff working in mixed-gender wards," the IMH spokesperson said.

District Judge Luke Tan observed that the accused has "really done a great disservice" to the nursing profession.