A Finnish doctor who said he sucked a patient's nipple
in line with an old midwives' diagnostic trick has been fined for
subjecting the 20-year-old woman to a "sexual act", a court said
Wednesday.
Two lower courts earlier ruled that the doctor, who insisted he
had obtained the patient's permission, had not committed a
crime.
But overturning those rulings, the Finnish Supreme Court said in
a statement that the hospital doctor had been sentenced to "a fine
and compensation for sexually taking advantage of a patient and
violation of his professional duty."
The doctor said that he merely used the technique to diagnose a
medical problem in accordance with the long-established midwives'
practice during a 2007 appointment for an ultrasound breast
exam.
The court added that it considered "it proven that it was indeed
a sexual act."
The doctor was ordered to pay a fine of approximately 80 days'
salary. He must also pay the woman 1,200 euros (1,600 dollars) in
compensation, less than half the 3,000 euros she had requested.
The court said it had decided not to impose a higher penalty
because "it was an isolated act perpetrated against an adult
plaintiff."