A Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal has reserved its findings in the case of a Christchurch doctor charged with having a sexual relationship with a young patient.
The doctor, who continues to practise, could be struck off the medical register if found guilty of disgraceful conduct, The Press reported.
He denies allegations he had sexual intercourse with the 17-year-old patient in 1985. He also denies giving her marijuana, cocaine and laughing gas (nitrous oxide) about the same time.
In closing, prosecutor Chris Lange said the tribunal should rule the doctor's actions with the woman constituted a breach of trust as there was no dispute sexual contact happened between them.
Because there was no-one else to corroborate their sexual contact, the tribunal had to decide whose evidence it accepted. The doctor's lawyer, Harry Waalkens QC, said the case was mainly one of credibility.
He said the complainant's evidence was unsatisfactory.
Even if the tribunal established there was a relationship between the two, he said any such relationship grew out of a babysitting arrangement between the woman and the doctor's family and not through the normal doctor-patient relationship, Mr Waalkens said.
NZPA