Not exactly a scene from a Hollywood rom-com, this encounter that this young female customer had with a male therapist.
The 30-year-old, who does not want to be named, went to the Ma Kuang TCM Clinic at Clementi for “tui na” last Thurs (14 Sep).
“Tui na” is a traditional Chinese treatment which involves massage, accupressure and other form of physical treatment.
She was assigned a male therapist and guided to a massage room divided by curtains and there were other customers in the room.
The woman said that the first half an hour of the massage seemed “normal”.
But later, the therapist unexpectedly moved her bra strap aside.
She felt uncomfortable, wondering if this was how “tui na” worked.
She was also asked to change positions several times and raise her arms.
The woman got fed up as she was worried she would expose her chest and back and told the therapist about that.
But, according to the woman, the therapist used one hand to press a towel against her chest and continued the “tui na” session with his other hand.
The woman added that the therapist massaged her tail bone, then pushed her underwear down to her thigs and rubbed her exposed buttocks when she complained of lower back pain.
The therapist reportedly said this treatment was necessary as her tailbone was “misaligned”.
The icing on the cake came when the therapist repeatedly asked for her phone number and home address after the therapy session, saying he wanted to bring her out for a meal and do a “home visit”
The woman later reported the matter to the police.
She said she was hesitant at first because Ma Kuang was a “reputable” clinic/
However, she filed the police report after consulting with other “tui na” clinics and realised that what the male therapist did was out of the ordinary.
Ma Kuang has since suspended the therapist and its own police report.
The clinic said that “tui na” therapist should be aware of customers’ sensitive areas and avoid touching them.
It added that there is usually a third person to act as an observer when a male therapist attends to a female customer to avoid misunderstandings.
