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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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Prominent New Plymouth doctor
Hiran Fernando held his head in his hands in disbelief after being convicted
of sex offending against former patients. In the High Court yesterday
afternoon, Fernando (58) was found guilty of 26 of the 34 indecent assault
charges he faced. The jury, which had been
considering its verdicts since noon on Tuesday, found the doctor not guilty
of eight similar charges and of three charges of sexual violation. The
charges spanned from 1981 to 2002. As each of the verdicts were read
the doctor, whose full name is Theomal Hirantha (Hiran) Joseph Fernando,
looked stunned. Once the jury left the courtroom, Fernando and his family
broke down. Surrounded by supporters, the
shock of the convictions was clear on all their faces. His wife and three
daughters embraced him in tears. Some members of the jury were also
visibly upset. Following his conviction, Justice
Priestley allowed the doctor to be named. Fernando's name has been suppressed
since his first appearance before the courts in 2004. He will be sentenced on November
15. Fernando's trial in the High Court
at New Plymouth went for nearly five weeks and involved dozens of witnesses,
including the 12 women who brought the charges against him. Justice Priestley thanked the jury
for their part in what had been a complex trial. He said sitting in judgment on a
fellow human being was not easy and had probably caused them a great deal of
anguish. The jurors were excused from being called again for five years. The doctor was remanded on bail, despite
opposition from the Crown. However, in granting bail, Justice
Priestley said he was not going to speculate what the doctor's sentence would
be. He said that at this stage he had
no view whether a custodial sentence was likely or not. At the end of the proceedings, the
doctor and his wife were ushered out of a side door of the courthouse in a
bid to avoid the waiting media. Fernando's lawyer, Harry Waalkens,
QC, said the doctor was disappointed and surprised by the result. "The family is gutted and
he's gutted too," Mr Waalkens said. He said outside the New Plymouth
courthouse it was too soon to make any comment about whether there would be
an appeal. Mr Waalkens said Fernando
maintained his innocence. Taranaki's Crown Solicitor Tim
Brewer said the case was a tragic one for all concerned. It was tragic for
the victims who were vulnerable women whose trust was betrayed. "For many of them, their
lives have been profoundly affected by what happened to them. "I think it's a tragedy for
the doctor who otherwise contributed a lot to our community, but who for
years abused his prestige and violated some of the most important ethics of
being a doctor." In particular, Mr Brewer said, it
was a tragedy for the doctor's family. "It has had a devastating
effect on them. It's not their fault and, in a very real sense, they too are
victims of the doctor's abuse of his patients." The jury was one that looked long
and hard at the charges and did a job that society needed to have done –
whether they had found him guilty or innocent, Mr Brewer said. On hearing of the verdict
yesterday, the Medical Council was asked by the Taranaki Daily News if it
would immediately suspend the doctor's practising certificate. In a subsequent statement, on
which the council declined to elaborate, the council replied that it believed
the actions of Dr Fernando were "totally unacceptable". It will now investigate the case
under section 69 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. The doctor and his legal counsel
will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond before deciding whether or
not to suspend, the council says. "It is the council's
expectation that while the doctor is responding to the council's proposal to
suspend, that the doctor will not practise." In 2000, Christchurch GP and
former deputy mayor Morgan Fahey was sentenced to six years' jail after he
admitted 11 charges of sexual assault, one charge of sexual violation and one
of rape. All of the offences were committed
against former female patients between 1966 and 1997. |
