Cupertino Acupuncturist Sentenced for Taping Patients

 A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge sentenced a Cupertino acupuncturist convicted of videotaping patients undressing to 271 days in county jail and two years' probation, a district attorney's office spokeswoman said.
     
Tung Wei Pan, 34, was convicted in January of misdemeanor counts  of using a concealed camera without consent and possession of child pornography, district attorney's spokeswoman Amy Cornell said.

Sheriff's Sgt. Rick Sung said Pan videotaped between 15 and 20 patients at his acupuncture clinic in Cupertino in 2008. Detectives found 72  tapes Pan allegedly made of people who ranged in age from about 15 to 50 years old, Sung said. He was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 4, 2009, as he returned from Taiwan.

The sentence was handed down Tuesday morning by Judge Kenneth Shapero. Pan has already served his jail term, but his license to practice acupuncture was revoked for the duration of his probation, Cornell said. The  state will determine whether to permanently suspend his license.

Additionally, Pan is required to register as a sex offender for life and could face deportation, Cornell said.