A young doctor accused of taking intimate photos of patients at a major regional hospital has been told to prepare himself for jail.
Nicholas Chia Wei Chu, 27, of Randwick in Sydney‘s eastern suburbs, is facing two charges of producing child abuse material and 14 counts of intentionally recording intimate images without consent.
Eleven of the charges relate to allegations he took photographs of patients’ genitals while working at Orange Health Service, a hospital in central west NSW, between January 2022 and February 2023.
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The remaining allegations involve incidents outside of hospital settings in Orange and Randwick, according to court documents.
There are 15 known alleged victims, none of whom can be legally identified.
During a brief mention in Orange Local Court this afternoon, prosecutor Shaun Towers said the charges against Chu were ready to be resolved.
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Defence lawyers have been in negotiations with prosecutors for months.
Chu, who has been suspended from practising, has not entered a plea, but is due to be committed for sentence in the NSW District Court on August 15.
Towers indicated there would be an application to revoke Chu’s bail on that date.
Magistrate David Day reminded Chu he is on conditional bail and cannot approach international departure points.
The charges are serious enough to warrant extradition proceedings if he left Australia, Day said.
He also flagged the likelihood of Chu’s bail being revoked in a fortnight.
“Mr Chu can put his house in order,” the magistrate said.
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Chu was ordered to appear in court in person for his next appearance.
“He’ll have to be at court, he can’t go into custody from a solicitor’s office,” Mr Day said.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency records show Chu studied at the University of NSW and graduated in 2021.
He first registered as a medical practitioner in December that year and his principal place of practice was Orange.
Chu remains on bail with strict conditions, including daily reporting to Sydney police.
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