A hospital doctor is facing serious allegations of sexual harassment towards two junior colleagues while working as a locum consultant at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest.
Dr Velmurugan Kuppuswamy, who qualified from a medical university in India in 1996, is accused of inappropriately touching and making sexually suggestive remarks to the women during his time at the Pembrokeshire hospital. The allegations are currently being considered by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel, which will determine whether his fitness to practise has been impaired.
According to the tribunal, Dr Kuppuswamy allegedly sent one of the doctors inappropriate messages, calling her “a perfect sweetheart” and writing: “I be there. If you dance with me…”
At a social gathering attended by hospital staff, he is said to have hugged the same doctor, touched her back, and squeezed her waist and wrist before pulling her towards him. It is claimed he smirked and winked at her, later calling her a “bad girl” after she remarked that smoking was bad for one’s health.
Despite her repeated efforts to pull away, Dr Kuppuswamy is accused of continuing to touch and harass the woman, ignoring her requests for him to stop and complaints that he was hurting her.
Witnesses also allege that during the party he followed a group of female colleagues when they moved to another area, staring at them while they danced and again later in the kitchen.
The doctor is further accused of making lewd gestures while playing table tennis with two junior colleagues, allegedly making a “forward thrusting motion” with his chest and telling them they should “use their chests as ping-pong bats”, adding that being “well-endowed in that area” was an advantage.
It is also claimed he stared at another female doctor who was dancing and told her she looked good, encouraging her to “go on, keep doing that sexy dancing for me”. While seated beside her, he allegedly moved his chair close until their shoulders were touching, placed his hand on her thigh, and squeezed near her groin.
During working hours, Dr Kuppuswamy is said to have made further inappropriate remarks. When one of the women phoned him about a work-related matter, he allegedly replied: “If you want to get in touch with me, there are easier ways.”
On other occasions, it is claimed he deliberately sat very close to the same doctor on a sofa, leaning in and draping his arm behind her. When she attempted to move away, he allegedly slid closer.
In another reported incident, while walking towards a lift, Dr Kuppuswamy is said to have grabbed and squeezed the woman’s arm, smirked, and whispered “cheeky girl” in her ear, again ignoring her protests that he was hurting her.
The allegations state that Dr Kuppuswamy’s behaviour created “an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment” for his junior colleagues and that his actions were “sexually motivated” and amounted to an abuse of his position.
A preliminary hearing was held earlier this month, and the case is expected to resume next year.
