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.
First Victim Reported Cheng After She Saw Videos of Herself, Others Being Assaulted by Him
Cheng was arrested on Dec. 27, 2022, for raping a female acquaintance at his residence. The victim came across videos depicting her and other women being assaulted by the doctor, officials said. In December, her attorney approached the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Cheng was arrested that month for raping that women and investigators went to work proving the other cases. A search warrant executed at Cheng’s home led to the seizure of numerous digital media storage devices containing videos of unconscious female hospital patients, as well as Cheng’s female acquaintances.
Sedation Drugs, Videos of Cheng Sexually Abusing and Groping Unconscious Hospital Patients Found at His Home
During the search, investigators found 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.
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.
Cheng was subsequently charged in multiple indictments with over 50 counts relating to his abuse of the victims. 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.
