A retired navy commander and former leader of the Chinese community has been sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to eight counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Kit Wong, 74, a former lieutenant commander with the Royal Canadian Navy based at CFB Esquimalt, was arrested in August 2018 for sexual assaults that occurred in his home-based business, where he practised acupuncture, massage therapy and traditional Chinese medicine.
Seven offences took place between 2005 and 2010. Two others occurred a few days before his arrest, despite the fact that Wong had been disciplined in 2011 and 2014 by the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of B.C. for touching patients in a sexual manner.
“Mr. Wong’s moral culpability for these crimes is high,” Victoria provincial court Judge Carmen Rogers said Wednesday. “He abused his position of trust as a medical practitioner for his own sexual gratification and he did so even after he had been disciplined for such conduct.”
Rogers accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence for the sentence of two years less a day followed by three years of probation. During his probation, Wong must not be in the presence of any person under the age of 19, must participate in counselling as directed by his probation officer and must not practise any form of physical therapy.
All of Wong’s victims were patients, said Rogers, who found that Wong intentionally and for a sexual purpose touched the genital area and/or breasts of the victims during “therapeutic massage.”
Wong digitally penetrated one victim. Another victim was a child, said Rogers. Some of the sexual assaults were a single event. Others were a form of grooming where the touching became progressively more invasive.
Five women prepared victim impact statements for the sentencing hearing that were read into the court record.
“All demonstrate that Mr. Wong’s actions, as would be expected, had a significant and long-lasting effect,” said Rogers. “The impact on each victim is different, but there has been an impact on the ability of all victims to trust, not only others, but themselves, and particularly those in positions of authority and those in the medical field.”
The judge acknowledged Wong’s contribution to Canada during the 23-years of his military service and his significant contribution to the Chinese community and to multiculturalism. A number of letters of reference attest to his upstanding character and skill in Chinese medicine, she noted.
“While I accept these letters at face value, I also note that it is common in crimes of a sexual nature that the accused maintains his position in the community during the commission of the crimes because they are conducted in private with only the victim present,” said Rogers.
The judge said aggravating circumstances in the case include the life-long impact on the victims, the fact that one of the victims was under the age of 18 and the breach of trust.
Wong took advantage of his position as a medical professional to commit these crimes, said Rogers. And even though his ability to practice was restricted between 2011 and 2014 and he was prohibited from practice from 2014 to 2016 by the Chinese college, the last two offences occurred less than two years after the end of that prohibition, she said.
Wong’s guilty plea, however, spared the victims from coming to court to give evidence, Rogers said, adding Wong has also accepted responsibility for his behaviour and is remorseful.
Rogers said the jail sentence will be difficult for Wong, given his age, background and medical challenges, including a recent stroke.
Wong previously ran the Shang Wu Kung Fu and Tai Chi Club on Fisgard Street in Chinatown. He is a former president of the Consolidated Chinese Benevolent Association of Victoria.
After retiring from the navy, he continued to teach CFB Esquimalt employees kung fu and tai chi in a warehouse in Work Point’s transportation compound.
