What to Know
- Another alleged victim of a Queens gastroenterologist believes the doctor used hospital-grade sedatives to put her to sleep — before raping her and recording video of the sex crime in progress
- Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng was accused in a 50-count indictment of raping or sexually abusing more than 13 other women, including a 19-year-old who was sexually abused on cell phone video inside a hospital exam room
- The woman, now the fourth accuser to speak with the I-Team, knew Cheng socially. She was not his patient, but she believes lax controls over hospital anesthesia could have given the doctor the means to render women unconscious for long periods of time
In an exclusive interview with the NBC New York I-Team, yet another alleged victim of Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng says she believes the Queens gastroenterologist used hospital-grade sedatives to put her to sleep — before raping her and recording video of the sex crime in progress.
The woman, now the fourth accuser to speak with the I-Team, knew Cheng socially. She was not his patient, but she believes lax controls over hospital anesthesia could have given the doctor the means to render women unconscious for long periods of time.
"It’s not an over-the-counter product, the things he had in his apartment. You would only get them if you were working in health care," she said. “I’d say I was sedated for a good twelve to sixteen hours."
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The alleged victim told the I-Team she initially believed she fell asleep due to the effects of alcohol and MDMA, a drug commonly known as "molly." She only became suspicious about being drugged with more potent hospital-grade anesthesia when a friend alerted her to news coverage of the 50-count indictment that accuses Dr. Cheng of raping or sexually abusing more than 13 other women, including a 19-year-old who was sexually abused on cell phone video inside a hospital exam room.
After hearing about the case against Cheng, the woman called prosecutors at the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
“They showed me a screenshot of one of the videos he had that seemed like it was linked to me,” she said. “They asked me to identify myself and I did.”
Cheng has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. When contacted by the I-Team, his attorney declined to comment.
New York Presbyterian Hospital Queens, which terminated Cheng’s employment after being made aware of the investigation, issued a statement saying the hospital is looking into whether Cheng obtained powerful sedatives while at work.
"The crimes committed by this individual are appalling, and we are deeply saddened by what these victims and their families have endured,” the statement read. “We are fully cooperating with all relevant authorities and independent investigators to confirm that no anesthesia drugs were stolen from the hospital.
Nicholas Liakas, an attorney who represents several of Dr. Cheng’s alleged victims, says he wants to know whether other hospital staff helped Cheng access sedatives or looked the other way as he preyed on patients.
“We’re investigating the involvement of potentially other doctors who worked with him and were close to him,” Liakas said. “These drugs are highly, highly regulated. You need to have a bar code. You need to have a method of accounting.”
Since firing Cheng, New York-Presbyterian says the hospital has installed new mandatory training on policies relating to internal reports of misconduct and the right to have “medical chaperones” so patients aren’t alone during exams, treatments, or procedures.
“We have also reached out to every patient who we have identified as a victim,” the hospital statement said.
The hospital did not specify how many patients have been determined to be victims of Dr. Cheng or whether a blanket notification to all of his patients should be made.
Liakas has suggested New York-Presbyterian may be trying to delay broader notification of the patient population because the deadline to file lawsuits under New York’s Adult Survivors Act is just days away. After Thanksgiving, many future claims against the hospital could be prohibited by the civil statute of limitations. Meanwhile, the Queens District Attorney’s Office has indicated there are still videos seized from Dr. Cheng, in which alleged sex crime victims have yet to be identified.
“They’re going to benefit from the clock running out. If these victims don’t get identified,” Liakas said. If we don’t know necessarily if there are other doctors involved or not involved, after November 23rd, these doctors may not be held accountable.”
