‘Betrayed the trust of women’: Dentist struck off over vile Tumblr act

An Australian dentist has been barred from the profession for a minimum three years.

EXCLUSIVE

A Sydney dentist who was caught uploading child abuse material to Tumblr has been banned from his profession for three years.

Vi Minh Lam, who ran a dental practice in Sydney’s inner west, had his registration as a dentist cancelled in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) on September 18.

The cancellation came after Lam was convicted of possessing child abuse material in 2021 after a not-for-profit organisation in the US tipped off the AFP to his Tumblr account.

Court documents state Lam was uploading to the site material involving children “in a sex act, witnessing a sex act or focused/concentrated on the anal or genital region of the minor”.

The charges came after a police search of Mr Lam’s home in December 2019, where he admitted to storing the matter on an external hard drive and an Acer laptop.

Court papers state one officer present told him: “We have found some child abuse material on some of those devices” to which he responded: “Yeah I don’t know why I keep things so long”.

Homebush dentist Vi Minh Lam admitted to the charges. Picture: News Corp Australia

He was also convicted of recording non-consensual intimate images without consent after the AFP discovered videos Lam had taken of women in his bathroom using the toilet and showering.

Lam elected not to participate in the proceedings brought forward by the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) to NCAT.

He did however write a letter to the HCCC on February 2022, saying he now had “significantly greater insight” into his behaviour after undergoing a sex offender treatment program.

“I accept that I filmed women without their consent, for my sexual gratification,” he said.

“I am truly committed to never re-offending and ensuring that I am not in a place in the future where I am at risk of offending, and for that reason will ensure that I address my mental health issues now and going into the future.”

In its final decision, the tribunal stated that Mr Lam did not meet the “standards of ethical and professional conduct expected of a dentist”.

Homebush dentist Vi Minh Lam leaving Burwood Local Court during his 2021 court case. Picture: News Corp Australia

Mr Lam's office is now closed. Picture: Google

“Mr Lam admitted the offences. He betrayed the trust of women that came into his home and viewed child sex abuse material,” the decision stated.

“In our view, those circumstances sufficiently relate to the practice of dentistry, especially given that patients put trust in their dentists.”

He will be eligible to apply to review the cancellation of his registration on September 18, 2027.

He was also ordered to pay the HCCC’s tribunal costs. 

Originally published as ‘Betrayed the trust of women’: Dentist struck off over vile Tumblr act