An Astoria doctor was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Thursday in Queens Supreme Court for raping unconscious acquaintances and sexually abusing hospital patients.
Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, of Broadway, pleaded guilty on June 30 to four counts of rape in the first degree and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in satisfaction of the consolidated indictments against him. He additionally entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse. The defendant — a former gastroenterologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital — recorded the abuse of his unconscious victims with his cell phone in both his Astoria apartment and at the hospital.
“Zhi Alan Cheng committed a series of heinous acts against women,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “He did so both as a private citizen, sexually assaulting women who were his intimate partners, and as a doctor, sexually assaulting vulnerable patients who came to the hospital in need of help.”
Katz said that Cheng was arrested on Dec. 27, 2022, for raping a female acquaintance at his residence. The woman discovered videos depicting her and other women being assaulted by the doctor. An investigation was launched by the Queens District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, working with New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where the defendant was employed.
A search warrant executed at Cheng’s home led to the seizure of numerous digital media storage devices that contained videos of him sexually abusing unconscious female hospital patients and female acquaintances. Also seized were quantities of fentanyl, ketamine, cocaine, LSD and Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy, and molly, as well as drugs used in health care settings for sedation, such as propofol and sevoflurane.
Cheng was subsequently charged in multiple indictments with over 50 counts relating to his abuse of the victims.
According to the evidence, Cheng recorded himself groping the breast and genitals of his first victim, a 19-year-old sedated female patient at the hospital in June 2021. His second victim at the hospital was a 47-year-old woman who was seriously ill and unconscious when Cheng recorded himself groping her breast and genitals in May 2022. Sometime between March 2021 and June 2021, Cheng recorded himself groping the breasts and genitals of his third victim at the hospital, a sedated 37-year-old female patient. His fourth victim at the hospital was a 48-year-old woman who went to New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital in November 2021 with a condition that required a gastrointestinal procedure. The victim was sedated during the procedure, after which she awoke to find Cheng digitally penetrating her.
“As a consequence of his crimes, he will serve over two decades in prison, with 10 years of post-release supervision and must register as a sex offender, likely for the rest of his life,” Katz said. “I am grateful to my Special Victims Bureau and the NYPD Special Victims Squad for their painstaking work on this case.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant sentenced Cheng to a determinate sentence of 24 years in prison. The state has suspended his ability to practice medicine.
“It is most important to express gratitude to the brave survivor who came forward initially to report the defendant’s crimes and the other victims who helped us make sure no other women were hurt going forward,” Katz said.
