KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — A Warisan leader has accused the director of a government hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, of sexually harassing a second victim.
Warisan health bureau chief Dr Istefan Koh claimed that a female staff filed an internal sexual harassment complaint against the hospital director in July 2025, before a second female staff reported the same perpetrator to the police in January 2026 after she was allegedly sexually harassed in October 2025.
“Based on the information I received, these are two different cases because for the first victim, an internal investigation was conducted and there was a response for this meeting, which occurred on July 7, 2025. After that, a second case was reported in January 2026,” said Dr Koh in a video today.
“This means we have two victims who reported complaints of sexual harassment and bullying by the same perpetrator, who is the hospital director.”
Dr Koh questioned if the hospital director was still working or if he had been suspended from duties, claiming that the accused perpetrator had admitted to wrongdoing.
“I hope KKM will step in this time to investigate properly and take action on what needs to be done.”
He claimed that the Sabah state health director was aware of allegations by the first victim in July 2025, before a second victim filed a complaint.
“The Sabah state health department (JKNS) conducted an investigation and the hospital director received a warning letter about his misconduct to be more responsible in carrying out his responsibilities as a head of department,” said Dr Koh.
“At the same time, the state health director told the hospital director to make improvements and pay serious attention not to repeat his behaviour in the future.”
The Warisan politician questioned if action had been taken on the first complaint, could the second sexual harassment case have been prevented.
“As the Sabah state health director, this warning letter was given to that hospital director on April 1, 2026, and in June 2026, the second victim who complained about sexual harassment and bullying was instructed to report for duty to work in the same hospital as the perpetrator,” said Dr Koh.
“As state health director, you know there is a case and she is traumatised, and you ask her to report work at the same hospital, even though the investigation is ongoing.”
CodeBlue has sighted a staff’s complaint to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) MyHelp channel, submitted on December 4, 2025, about sexual harassment by the hospital director.
“I am submitting this report to formally seek institutional protection and intervention. This is in response to ongoing harassment experienced directly by me, and earlier reported cases involving another staff member,” said the female complainant.
“Despite previous steps taken through internal escalation, the perpetrator remains physically present at the workplace, causing ongoing distress and violation of workplace boundaries.”
This December 2025 complaint to the MOH was likely filed by the second victim, who went on to make a police report in January this year.
CodeBlue has asked MOH Putrajaya why the hospital director wasn’t suspended from duties immediately after the first complaint was filed.
JKNS merely said in a statement yesterday that a special committee appointed by the MOH has completed investigations into sexual harassment complaints against the hospital director, without specifying which case, the number of alleged victims, or the timeline of incidents.
It’s unclear if the Public Service Department (JPA) was notified of MOH’s internal investigations into the hospital director.
Regulations 43 to 44 under the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 on interdiction and suspension allow an appropriate Disciplinary Authority to interdict an officer from the exercise of their duties pending investigations or if disciplinary proceedings, with a view that a punishment of dismissal or reduction in rank be imposed on them, have been instituted.
This is the most high-profile sexual harassment case in the MOH after the 2018 case of an orthopaedic head of department in Sungai Buloh Hospital, who was terminated from public service after an inquiry into female house officers’ sexual harassment allegations.
Dzulkefly Ahmad, who was the health minister then, has yet to issue a statement about the sexual harassment case allegedly involving the Kota Kinabalu hospital director.
