A healthcare worker in Perth's southern suburbs has been sent to prison for sexually assaulting a patient under the guise of a medical examination, in a case described by the judge as a gross breach of trust.
Violation of Trust in Medical Setting
Chaudhry Ali Shahbaz, a 29-year-old phlebotomist, was sentenced to four years imprisonment in the District Court of Western Australia after being found guilty on three counts of sexual penetration without consent. The unanimous jury verdict came after a trial in September 2025.
The court heard that on August 31, 2023, the complainant, a woman in her 30s, had been referred by her GP to a Willetton pathology clinic for routine blood tests as she and her husband were planning to start a family.
Disturbing Details Emerge in Court
Through a Chinese interpreter, the woman testified that Shahbaz informed her she needed to undergo a PCR test "through the vagina." When she asked if she could perform the test herself, he responded with complex medical terminology that confused her.
Judge Mara Barone accepted the victim's evidence that Shahbaz directed her to remove her pants and underwear before inserting the swab three times, causing her physical pain.
The court heard disturbing details of Shahbaz's behaviour during the assault, including that he remarked "that's beautiful" upon seeing her genitals and began breathing rapidly. He also made inappropriate sexualised comments about Asian women and Pakistani men during the procedure.
Judge Condemns "Remarkable" Breach of Professional Duty
In delivering the sentence on Tuesday, Judge Barone stated that Shahbaz had "grossly breached the woman's trust and humiliated her" for his own sexual gratification.
"When a woman seeks medical tests and is required to put herself in a vulnerable position, exposing the most vulnerable parts of her body to a stranger, she does so in the hope that the person in good faith will engage themselves as a professional," Judge Barone said.
"You failed against that measure in a remarkable way in that for your own sexual gratification, you caused pain and humiliation to a woman who was simply coming for medical tests to be conducted upon her."
The judge noted that the victim's limited English language skills made her particularly vulnerable in the situation.
Shahbaz, who had been on bail prior to sentencing, will be eligible for parole after serving two years of his four-year term.
