‘You don’t expect to be raped in your doctor’s rooms’

Spokesperson FC Van Wyk said the woman claimed the man raped her in his consultation room at the Nyanga Community Health Centre. Picture: Brendan Magaar

Spokesperson FC Van Wyk said the woman claimed the man raped her in his consultation room at the Nyanga Community Health Centre. Picture: Brendan Magaar

Published Sep 28, 2016

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Cape Town - A Nyanga woman who went to a clinic complaining of back pains says she was raped by her doctor.

Police arrested a 46-year-old doctor on Monday, following allegations he had raped a 26-year-old patient.

Spokesperson FC Van Wyk said the woman claimed the man raped her in his consultation room at the Nyanga Community Health Centre.

She informed the clinic’s management, who called police and the accused was arrested at his workplace.

The suspect is expected to appear at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the woman’s family said she was still too traumatised to talk about the incident.

Her 38-year-old sister said the young woman went to the healthcare centre on Monday after complaining of back pain.

“She says she went in and explained what was wrong and he told her it might be discharge from a vaginal infection,” she said.

“He told her to take off her tights and to lie down before he inserted his fingers into her for an examination. After taking out his fingers, he told her there was definitely some discharge and that he would need to remove it.

“He then told her to breathe in and out, to relax and when she still couldn’t, he told her to imagine she was having sex - a process which was supposed to relax her.

“When that didn’t work, he apparently started massaging her breast. Afterwards he told her to move and to close her eyes. He then took some cream and put his hand in there again.

“My sister says she got groggy and the next thing she knew this man was on top of her, raping her.”

The sister said she they are shocked a doctor could do this to his own patient.

“One usually expects rapes to happen while a person is walking alone at night or out at a tavern, not in your doctor’s rooms. We go to these places for help because we cannot afford private doctors but now this has scared us all.

“Something needs to be done about this, how are we to trust that the doctors in our clinics are not criminals because it’s never the same doctor, they come and go.”

Spokesperson for the Department of Health Mark van Heever says the doctor in question was employed as a locum [temporary] doctor via an agency.

“The department has since suspended all ties with the agency, pending the outcome of the investigation,” he said.

Daily Voice

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