Doctor Thean Soo Chin is banned for 10 years as disturbing details emerge of his depraved acts with patients

A doctor accused of asking a male patient for sexual acts before giving prescriptions has been banned from healthcare for 10 years.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal last Friday ruled Dr Thean Soo Chin, who had a practice in the suburb of Balgownie in Wollongong, south of Sydney, had engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct.

Dr Chin, also known as Christopher Chin, was charged in 2019 and 2020 with sexual offences against the three patients but was found not guilty following trials.

Accusations made against him at the Tribunal by the Health Care Complaints Commission included touching a patient's buttocks while saying 'soft bum' and wearing an apron with a naked man and protruding rubber penis for a consultation.

He was also accused of grabbing the patient's ears and thrusting his pelvis towards the man's face, mimicking fellatio, while saying 'yeah baby' with all the incidents occurring between August 2016 and December of that year.

The Tribunal deemed Dr Chin's conduct towards that patient as 'wholly inappropriate' although the medic's lawyer did not make admissions to these claims.

NCAT also slammed his conduct towards two other patients as 'predatory'.

Dr Chin's lawyer did make admissions of 'inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature' with a patient over a number of consultations in 2016.

This included taking photos of the man's penis and touching it without clinical reason, sending the patient photos of his own penis as well as performing oral sex on the patient and receiving it.

He also kissed the patient and made sexual comments, including during a prostate exam as well as pinching and squeezing the patient's nipples, the Tribunal heard.

This patient, who had become dependent on pain medication after surgery and previously gave evidence, said he feared Dr Chin would not prescribe him the drugs if he did not engage in the sexual activities, the Tribunal heard.

The patient accused Dr Chin of getting 'me deliberately hooked on drugs so that he could hold out prescriptions in exchange for sexual acts. I would never have done those things', the Tribunal heard.

The patient told the Tribunal during one consultation Dr Chin said he would prescribe 10 boxes of prescription boxes if the man kissed and sucked his penis and fellatio on the medic subsequently occurred.

Afterwards, Dr Chin told the patient he would have to engage in sexual intercourse 'for your next ten boxes', the Tribunal heard.

Dr Chin's lawyer argued his client used an 'unfortunate turn of phrase', but the Tribunal was not convinced the doctor had not meant exactly what he'd said.

The Tribunal found Dr Chin improperly prescribed drugs of dependence and addiction, including benzodiazepines and opioids, without regard for the safety of patients that he knew had histories of drug use.

Medical notes Dr Chen made also showed an unprofessional attitude and disrespect to patients, the Tribunal found.

He wrote of one patient that he would do a prostate exam without lubricant if he was lying about a a matter.

He referred to another patient as 'chicken shit' and said it was 'funny' that anoter patient's wife hadn't left him.

Dr Chin also failed to record certain aspects of the patients' medical histories, in one case his opioid addiction.

The Tribunal labelled Dr Chin's sexual conduct towards his patients an 'egregious breach of his professional obligations' and rejected his assertion he had a relationship or friendship with two of them.

Dr Chin's prescription of the drugs without authority nor attempt to wean patients off them was 'disgraceful', the Tribunal found.

After being registered as a NSW medical practitioner on 12 December 1985 Dr Chin practiced up until he was suspended in 2019 following the complaints made by patients to police.

With his registration cancelled without possibility of review for 10 years Dr Chin has indicated he does not intend to practice medicine again.