Perth paediatrician allegedly assaulted children seeking help for ADHD, used ‘Sugar Daddy’ site
Warning: This story contains graphic content.
A Perth pediatrician faces 53 child sexual charges and allegedly abused young girls he evaluated for ADHD, a court has been told.
Dr Chia Liang Saw was arrested last month and charged with continuous sexual intercourse with a child between 2023 and 2026 and possession of child abuse material.
A number of new charges have since been added, including producing child abuse material, inappropriate relationships with children over 13 and under 16, improperly recording a child under 16, and one count of sexual intercourse with a child over 13.
Police allege eight of the 10 alleged victims were young female patients, aged 12 to 15, whom he secretly recorded while being treated for ADHD. It was claimed that another child was sexually abused multiple times at his home.
Saw, who has been held in a secure unit at Hakea Prison since his arrest, appeared in Perth Magistrates’ Court via video link on Tuesday, where he made an application for bail.
However, the move was postponed again as the court was told that more potential child victims were being interviewed and prosecutors said other charges might be filed.
Saw is currently facing charges involving 10 juveniles, and his arrest stems from a complaint from one of his young patients.
The court was told that when police went to arrest Saw at his Wembley home in May, they searched his electronic devices, which allegedly contained indecent material relating to children recorded by him during medical examinations.
But Saw’s lawyer, Alex Smith, told the court on Tuesday that his client regularly recorded his patients “in order to protect himself from any suggestion of inappropriate behaviour”.
A family friend made another claim and the court was told that an alleged victim, who was a patient of Saw’s, showed police evidence that the pediatrician had arranged to meet her outside her school and home.
Police have previously said Saw, a developmental paediatrician, specialized in behavioral problems affecting children and performed surgeries in various parts of Perth.
He was suspended from training until the charges against him were finalized.
The alleged attack took place between November 2022 and May 2026 in the Perth suburbs of Wembley, Nedlands and Midland.
An earlier hearing was told the child abuse material Saw allegedly possessed was a photograph of schoolgirls sitting on the floor in their underwear.
Prosecutors on Tuesday, citing the strength of the indictment and the head of the Child and Adolescent Health Service, Dr. They strongly opposed bail, claiming they had received expert medical evidence from Jennifer Green that supported her claim that “the defendant would have had no reason to examine the children in this way”.
Prosecutors also told the court that Saw, a married father of two teenage daughters, was alleged to have used the website ‘Sugar Daddy’, an online dating platform designed to connect wealthy, successful individuals with younger or less financially well-off individuals.
They also claimed there was evidence that Saw had Googled “Dr Saw pedophile” before his arrest and had been “stalking” children online and on social media.
Saw’s wife, a general practitioner, continued to support her husband, the court heard.
Prosecutors said they had “serious concerns” about Saw’s mental health in the face of the charges and his potential flight risk given his dual Malaysian-Australian citizenship.
The judge, who said he was “horrified” by the charges, said he wanted to delay a decision on whether Saw would be released on bail while more potential victims were interviewed.
Saw will appear in court again on Friday afternoon.
