Vi Minh Lam: Lidcombe dentist facing child abuse material charge

A family dentist is alleged to have recorded intimate images of members of the public and kept a secret stash of child abuse material.

An inner west dentist is facing a series of disturbing allegations that he recorded intimate images of members of the public and was caught with child abuse material.

Vi Minh Lam, 53, is accused of possessing the material after police searched his Lidcombe home in 2019.

Inside, police allege they found the child abuse material stored in an Acer computer and on an external hard drive.

The family dentist faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail if convicted on the more serious child abuse material charges.

Very few details have been heard in open court about the case yet.

Lam, from Lidcombe, appeared in Burwood Local Court on Wednesday in a bid to change the conditions that allow him freedom in the community while his case progresses.

Under his current bail conditions Lam is only allowed to access the internet from his Homebush dental practice.

The court was told Lam now wanted permission to access the internet at home because the dental doctor has since lost his practice.

Magistrate Susan Horan said she was taking the facts of the case “at their highest” and that there was a danger to children that needed to be addressed.

Police laid charges 18 months after the incident, according to court documents.

Lam was charged in December last year and court documents show police allege he was in the possession of the material, and filmed the intimate images, in Lidcombe in July 2019.

No details about the case have been heard in open court and it is not clear why it reportedly took police 18 months to charge Lam.

He is facing two counts of possessing child abuse material and two counts of recording intimate images of someone without consent.

Magistrate Horan denied his request to allow him to access the internet from home.

Lam’s case was adjourned to be heard again back in the same court later this year.

NEWS TIPS: [e-mail]