Vipin Lal, a Perth-based doctor has been deregistered and barred from applying for registration for five years for obtaining oral sex from a female patient and persistently lying about it.
Dr Lal had received oral sex from a long-term patient in his consultation room in November 2013 and falsely recorded in the notes that he carried out the lower back examination on the patient.
When the patient returned to Dr Lal four days later on 22 November 2013 to discuss the sexual contact between them, she ended up storming out of the room after demanding $10,000.
But he made further misleading entries into the clinical notes that he had given counselling to the patients about issues with her partner and advised her about contacts for a psychiatric emergency.
Dr Lal then made a police complaint about the woman’s demand for money and denied there had been a sexual contact between them.
The State Administrative Tribunal was told that Dr Lal had been flirtatious and overly affectionate with the woman patient and his actions included hugging and kissing her and using sexually explicit language during consultations.
He continued to lie to the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency about the incident until 31 March 2015 when he admitted to getting oral sex from the patient. But he said it was not consensual on his part and was initiated by the patient.
The woman told the court that she made the demand for money only to make Dr Lal admit what had happened between them. In November 2015, the court cleared the woman patient of the charges of extortion.
The SAT said Dr Lal’s actions were “serious” and constituted professional misconduct and that he breached the code of conduct of the Medical Board of Australia.
While delivering the verdict, Justice JC Curthoys, President SAT said “no penalty short of removal from the register is sufficient to mark the disapproval of the conduct, or bring home to Dr Lal the magnitude of his failing or adequately protect the public.
"Only cancellation of registration will protect the standing of the profession, and adequately deter Dr Lal from the abuse of the position of medical practitioner to sexually and legally exploit their patients."
