TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's healthcare sector faced a disturbing development as the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW, 衛生福利部), the government agency overseeing public health, confirmed Tuesday (May 13) that a resident physician at the prestigious National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH, 台大醫院) has been convicted of sexual assault. The doctor, identified only by the surname Huang (黃), received a three-year prison sentence from the Taipei District Court (台北地方法院), the primary judicial authority in the capital city.
The assault occurred in June 2021 when Huang, working an emergency room shift, inappropriately touched a female patient under the guise of conducting what he termed a "sexual response test" — a fabricated procedure with no medical validity. Following the victim's police report, authorities launched an investigation that culminated in the recent conviction. Liu Yu-ching (劉玉菁), who serves as deputy director of the Department of Medical Affairs (醫事司), a division within the health ministry, cited Article 25 of the Physicians Act (醫師法), Taiwan's primary legislation governing medical practitioners, which mandates professional sanctions for doctors who commit crimes in clinical settings.
According to regulatory guidelines, potential disciplinary consequences for physicians found guilty of criminal conduct span a spectrum of severity — from formal warnings and mandated continuing education to supervised clinical retraining, limitations on practice scope, temporary suspension, or permanent revocation of medical credentials. The health ministry has simultaneously initiated revisions to the broader "Medical Personnel Act" (醫事人員法), which governs all healthcare professionals in Taiwan, potentially allowing authorities to publicize offenders' identities under carefully defined circumstances while protecting uninvolved practitioners from reputational damage. ★
