A 42-year-old Chinese doctor convicted of sexual assaults on two of his female patients, has been jailed for six months.

Guang Jie Li lived and worked alone at the Chinese Medical Centre in Margate High Street and in October 2004 touched one women indecently then attacked another in February 2005.

He was convicted after a trial of sexual assault and assault by penetration and appeared for sentence at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday.

Judge Anthony Webb told Li only a custodial sentence was appropriate. "Any breach of trust of the sort that is shown in these offences, by a man in your position, must result in such a sentence."

Li was a qualified doctor in China but his qualifications were not valid in the UK.

At the time, Li’s wife and daughter were still in China and his lawyer, John O’Higgins said: " These two incidents may represent a loss of control by a man deprived of normal family and conjugal comforts, alone and isolated in this country faced with overwhelming temptation to which he succumbed twice."

Li achieved distinction in China but having been brought to the UK by Everwell Chinese Medical Centres he found the money was poor and he effectively had to finance the business out of his own takings leaving him with very little.

"He has suffered total personal and professional disgrace," said Mr O’Higgins.

Li was made subject of a sexual offences prevention order banning him from carrying on a business as a practioner of traditional Chinese medicine and banned from administering treatment or complimentary therapies including massage to the public in the UK.

He will be on the sex offenders' register for seven years.

Commenting about Everwell, Judge Webb said: "It is a matter of considerable concern that those responsible for bringing you to this country failed to make any proper arrangements for the safety of patients or clients at the Chinese Medical Centre.

"There does not seem to be any scheme that has been brought to my attention that would make it necessary for them to provide the sort of safeguards one would normally expect in this country to find in the sort of establishment you were working in."

He directed his remarks be forwarded to the Immigration Department so if appropriate, the working methods of Everwell should be examined.