London: An Indian-origin doctor has been
accused of fondling a woman patient`s private body parts and
later begging her husband not to report him, a British medical
tribunal has heard.
53-year-old Subramanium Balu, a married father of two,
allegedly telephoned the man a day after the consultation to
say: "I`m sorry, I`m sorry, I`m sorry, please forgive me."
When the husband said he was considering taking the
incident further, Balu pleaded: "Please bear in mind I am a
family man with a wife and two children," The Daily Telegraph
quoted Balu as during the hearing.
The doctor later allegedly faked an account of the
incident, which took place in September, 2008, in which he
claimed that the 35-year-old patient had tried to seduce him
by "pushing her chest forward" in a provocative way, and then
putting her "arched buttocks" in his face.
He said, "I had to turn my eyes away to avoid this, when
I discussed her medical condition she was looking at me in a
seductive way."
The General Medical Council (GMC) tribunal in Manchester
heard that the woman, who was identified only as Patient A,
went to Balu`s surgery in Dudley in the West Midlands
suffering from a cold, high temperature and headaches as well
as a regular cough.
Sophie Cartwright, counsel for the GMC, said the
following day, after Balu learnt a complaint had been made, he
contacted the woman`s husband over the phone telling him: "I`m
sorry, please forgive me."
Dudley National Health Service Trust hired an independent
investigator to interview Balu. The doctor, of Stourbridge,
West Midlands, denied any improper action.
PTI
