A Sydney chiropractor has escaped being struck off after being accused of removing a patient's underwear and talking to the patient's penis.
The Chiropractic Tribunal of NSW said it had "substantial misgivings" and believed the patient was not lying but argued the claims against Dennis Maher could not be substantiated.
In February and March 2010 Mr Maher saw a Japanese patient who wanted treatment for neck pain. The chiropractor allegedly removed his underwear and touched his genitals during a series of massages.
"I thought it was like an accident. I wanted it to be like an accident. I wanted to think it was an accident," the patient said during a hearing.
"I definitely saw him touch my penis and he said "wake up" as he touched it. He touched it with his hands."
The patient also said Mr Maher did not give him privacy to undress and did not provide a towel to cover his private parts.
When the patient asked for one, Mr Maher only provided a thin, small handkerchief that kept falling off, the patient alleged.
The Health Complaints Commission of NSW, which brought the case against Mr Maher, wanted him deregistered for professional misconduct.
Instead, the chiropractor — who denies the allegations — was reprimanded on lesser complaints of writing most of his notes in Japanese and failing to obtain informed consent.
The tribunal found the patient's oral evidence to be sincere and said it did not believe he was lying.
And it added: "It is the view of this tribunal that the consistent denials made by [Mr Maher] are not, in the circumstances, a firm basis to conclude that conduct did not occur."
However the tribunal argued that it could also not be "reasonably satisfied" the conduct did occur. It ordered Mr Maher to obtain guidance from a chiropractic mentor periodically for 18 months and to take a course on ethics.