In Beijing's Chaoyang district, a 72-year-old traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor surnamed Xu was recently accused by a patient, Mrs. Du, of molesting her during pulse diagnosis and acupuncture, later arguing that it was because the patient was "possessed by a female ghost" and he was performing an exorcism. The incident has caused a public outcry.
According to Red Star News, Mrs. Du had previously sought treatment at Dr. Xu's TCM clinic due to physical discomfort. During the consultation, Dr. Xu claimed that she "had a female ghost on her body" and used the excuse of "expelling the demon with nine needles over two nights" to ask her to continue the treatment. In a mentally unstable state, Mrs. Du did not agree and felt afraid of Dr. Xu's words and actions. Unexpectedly, after realizing that his scheme had failed, Dr. Xu proceeded to molest her.
After returning home, as a result of the forced molestation and psychological intimidation, Mrs. Du suffered nightmares for several consecutive nights, and later was unable to go out or live normally. Her mental condition continued to worsen, and she needed her family to take care of her daily life. After learning what happened, the Du family reported the incident to the police and took Dr. Xu to court.
During the police investigation, Dr. Xu admitted to the molestation but argued that all his actions were normal medical procedures and did not constitute sexual harassment, and he did not accept the charges. The police imposed a seven-day administrative detention penalty for forced molestation, but it was not actually enforced due to his age being over 70.
The court found that Dr. Xu's medical conduct had exceeded what is generally understood to be TCM procedures. Based on comprehensive evidence, the court determined that the plaintiff's claim of sexual harassment was true. The court ruled that Dr. Xu had touched the plaintiff's private areas during the consultation, which constituted sexual harassment, and required him to bear the corresponding civil liability.
In the first-instance judgment, Dr. Xu was ordered to issue a written apology to Mrs. Du, and compensate her RMB 10,332.16 for medical expenses, RMB 7,000 for attorney's fees, and RMB 30,000 for mental distress compensation. (Source: HK01)