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January 07, 2023 - 2:30 PM
A B.C. massage therapist has been suspended for five days and fined $1,000 for playing on her phone while massaging patients.
According to a Jan. 3 College of Massage Therapists of B.C. decision, Burnaby-based massage therapist Najia Xu was caught playing on her phone by an undercover investigator who posed as a patient.
Xu admitted that she used her phone while conducting three massages between June and October 2021.
"(Xu) massaged the patient with one hand only for a period of time while she used her other hand to hold and use her cellular phone without the patient’s knowledge," the decision reads. "(She) used her cellular phone three times during the treatment to check the time; and unlocked her cellular phone by tapping in the password and read a text message that she had received."
The decision doesn't say what led to the undercover investigator's sting operation but Xu played on her phone when massaging them.
"She massaged the investigator with one hand only for a period of time while using her other hand to hold and use her cellular phone without the investigator’s knowledge," the College said. "At one point during the appointment, Ms. Xu sent a text message to notify the front desk that there was no music in the treatment room."
The investigator found Xu had used her cellular phone three times for between 30 seconds and five minutes during the massage.
"(The regulator) considered Ms. Xu’s admitted conduct to be serious, involving numerous breaches of professional requirements, and noted that by using her cellular phone during patient treatments she did not treat those patients with respect or act in their best interests," the decision said.
Xu agreed to pay a $1,000 fine plus $1,500 in costs and a five-day suspension. She will also have to complete coursework on professional ethics and is banned from having her cell phone in the massage practice room in the future.
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