A disgraced country doctor has described himself as ‘selfish’, ‘wicked’ and ‘perverse’ for secretly taking intimate photos and videos of patients, colleagues and friends – but claims it’s really all his mum’s fault.
Nicholas Chia Wei Chu was released on parole from John Morony Correctional Centre on Thursday afternoon, after being sentenced for a starting string of perverted crimes.
Chu admitted taking covert photos and videos of 11 patients, including a 14-year-old, at Orange Health Service in central west NSW between January 2022 and February 2023.
He also took videos of several colleagues in various states of undress by secretly positioning his mobile phone in a hospital change room, as well as filming friends naked in their bathrooms and bedrooms in Orange and Sydney.
The 28-year-old was sentenced in the NSW District Court to a maximum term of one year in jail for producing child abuse material related to 21 intimate images of the teenage patient.
Judge Penny Musgrave handed Chu a six-month non-parole period, allowing him to immediately walk out of jail with time already served.
But Chu’s sentence is far from over and he will be required to complete 480 hours of community service as part of a two-year Intensive Correction Order handed down for the remainder of the charges relating to his adult victims.
In a hard-written letter penned from his cell in Junee prison, Chu apologised for his abusing his position of trust as a doctor and taking advantage of his standing in the community.
Nicholas Chia Wei Chu (pictured) was sentenced to a maximum term of one year in jail for producing child abuse material related to 21 intimate images of the teenage patient
‘I harmed them when I was supposed to help them,’ Chu wrote in the letter, released by the court on Monday.
‘I abused my responsibilities as a doctor and I did so serially.
‘I’ve caused my patients to suffer by my selfish and wicked actions.’
He also acknowledged eroding public trust in the health profession and devaluing the work of his colleagues.
Chu, who moved from Malaysia to study medicine in Sydney in 2016, wrote that his father and aunt spent their life savings on his university education.
‘I recognise what an irresponsible son and nephew I have been, one who squandered all the hard-earned opportunities for a better life.’
Although he took full responsibility for his crimes, he explained he had discovered that his troubled childhood had been a key factor in driving his offending.
Through 28 sessions with a psychologist, he said he had learned his mother’s abandonment of him as a child led to an ‘anxious-insecure attachment style’.
In a hand-written letter tendered to court, Chu also apologised for the harm he caused his patients due to his ‘selfish and wicked actions’
He was diagnosed as a voyeur, with his brain ‘misrepresenting’ lewd images as emotional intimacy.
Chu said he was grateful to police for stopping his offending, which had ‘spiralled out of control’.
‘I will work hard and persevere through the challenges to become a better man each day,’ he wrote.
Under court orders, Chu is banned from working unsupervised with anyone, cannot enter the Orange region and must allow police access to his electronic devices.
His medical registration has also been suspended.
Western NSW Local Health District issued an apology to Chu’s victims, adding those who were identified by police were offered counselling.
‘We sincerely apologise for the distress and ongoing impact that these actions by one individual has had on victims,’ the statement said.
