Doctor who sexually assaulted patient jailed for three-and-a-half years

Dr Saqib Uddin Khan, who worked in general surgery at the Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, denied anything untoward happened during his examination of the patient.

But the jury found him guilty after deliberating for four hours.

Passing sentence Judge John Pini QC today (Friday) told the doctor his reputation had been destroyed.

The judge said: “You found yourself in the situation alone with your patient and fell prey to temptation. The trust placed in doctors by patients is unconditional. In this case it is a shocking abuse of that trust.

“This was a momentary aberration. However she was vulnerable. She was frightened and scared because of her blood loss. She trusted you totally and you took advantage of that situation to abuse her.

“For you this is an utter catastrophe. Your hard fought for career is in tatters. Your reputation is destroyed.”

The doctor now faces a General Medical Council hearing which could ban him for life from practising as a doctor in the UK and further afield. He has also been placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Andrew Hockton, in mitigation, told the court: “This is a ruined man who will find it extremely difficult to restore his career.

“He is a man of impeccable character who has practised for many years with an unblemished career. He was working in a very difficult capacity in very difficult circumstances in a busy surgical unit.

“All convictions are automatically referred to the GMC. In a case of this sort it is inevitable that the GMC will adopt a severe approach.”

During the trial the jury heard that the woman was taken to A & E by her housemate after she began bleeding from her breast just two weeks after undergoing a breast implant procedure at a clinic in Poland.

The woman, in her late twenties, said that she was bleeding heavily and felt so ill she feared she would die.

She said she agreed that Khan should examine her in a room on her own as the ward was very busy and a chaperone could not be found.

But she said that Khan examined the top half of her body but then began examining her groin before carrying out an internal examination.

She said that Khan looked ‘really excited’ and had his mouth hanging open as he carried out the intimate examination.

The woman said that Khan then carried out a second similar examination after asking her to sit up.

Later she made a complaint to a nurse.

In evidence Khan, a speciality doctor in general surgery, told the jury that he attempted to find a female nurse to act as chaperone while he examined the patient but staff were too busy dealing with other urgent cases.

Khan said that he only examined the woman above the waist and described the complainant’s evidence as ‘fabrication’. He accused her of lying.

Dr Khan, 36, of Mayfair Gardens, Boston, denied a charge of assault by penetration on 29 September 2014.