NSW doctor who assaulted patients jailed

A former psychiatrist who preyed on "vulnerable" patients for his own sexual gratification has been sentenced to three years behind bars.

Ong Ming Tan, 40, pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting four women from May 2010 until he was exposed in late 2011.

The disgraced Sydney practitioner was sentenced on Thursday to three years in jail, but could walk free in March 2016, when his non-parole period expires.

Tan kept his eyes closed as a packed Downing Centre District Court room heard how he had drawn young women into his confidence, asking them questions about their sex lives, touching them inappropriately and warning them not to trust their families or other doctors.

Judge James Bennett said the offender had told one sick patient: "I will bend you over my knee, I will spank you for being a naughty girl."

Tan "tickled" the young woman, who suffered from an eating disorder, during one-on-one sessions and threatened to assume guardianship over her.

Later, when she began crying during a session, he wiped her tears away with his finger saying: "There's my sweet girl."

Justice Bennett told the court Tan had chastised another patient, diagnosed with anorexia as a teenager, for covering up.

"Boys are not attracted to you because you don't show enough flesh," Tan told this second patient.

"Next time I see you, I want you to be wearing a push-up bra and a low-cut top."

He asked how many blowjobs she had given, and told her travel overseas would be an opportunity to have sex with strangers.

The doctor, who has since been diagnosed as suffering from bipolar disorder, touched a third victim near her vagina as they sat in his locked office.

He stressed that their sessions "were their little secret" and if she spoke to anyone, he would become her guardian and assume complete control over her care.

"He made her feel that her illness was so severe that he was her only hope," Justice Bennett said.

Tan placed a hand on a fourth victim, near her chest, Justice Bennett said, and sent her suggestive text messages.

Justice Bennett found that Tan's behaviour "delayed and compromised" the victims' attempts to recover from their illnesses but his offences reached only the mid-range of seriousness.