A DOCTOR who denies sexual assault told jurors it was “not possible” for him to remove the clothing of a patient.
Hongwei Dong, 60, is on trial at Bournemouth Crown Court accused of seven counts of sexual assault against a woman, aged in her 30s, between October and December 2018.
The Chinese acupuncturist allegedly touched the woman, who suffered from joint and muscular pain, intimately and told her it would help stimulate the feeling in her feet.
During another treatment session at WeCare Remedy in Bournemouth he gave the woman a massage after removing acupuncture needles from her naked body only to take the opportunity to sexually assault her, prosecutors allege.
Read more: Doctor sexually assaulted patient while performing acupuncture on her, jury told
Giving evidence at the trial, Dong, who operated under the pseudonym of Doctor David, said he had more than 30 years’ experience in acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
Speaking through an interpreter, the defendant told jurors he moved to the United Kingdom in 2006 having grown up in northern China.
He began working at WeCare Remedy in Commercial Road in around April 2018, the court heard.
The jury was told Dong was not registered with Bournemouth Borough Council, as required, for the administration of acupuncture.
Dong said when the complainant first came to the clinic her “health was not good”.
When asked by defence barrister Nick Robinson what he had to say about allegations that on occasion he removed the complainant’s clothing, Dong said: “That is not possible because we were not allowed to enter the room until they are ready and we only do the acupuncture when we were there for a little while then we leave the room for half an hour.”
The defendant said only the patient was left in the room with a bell, which they could ring if they needed something.
The defendant said female receptionists at WeCare Remedy were with him when he was with the patient, acting as a translator and a interpreter.
When asked by Mr Robinson if to the best of his knowledge did the complainant ever raise complaint or concern with receptionists after treatment sessions, the defendant said “no”.
Dong said he liked his job “very much”, adding “because I feel satisfaction about successfully treating a patient and the work I do is also something I am interested in”.
In police interview Dong denied sexually assaulting the woman and said she was ‘making it up’.
Asked by Mr Robinson if he stood by what he said to officers, the defendant said: “I basically agree.”
Dong, of Shirley House Drive, Charlton, denies all charges. The trial continues.
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