Canadian physician David Edward‑Ooi Poon is facing dozens of criminal charges after authorities were alerted to suspected illegal images detected in a cloud storage account.
According to investigators, technology company Google flagged images in a cloud storage account linked to the doctor, which triggered a report to law enforcement. The alert led police to obtain search warrants and begin a broader investigation into digital devices connected to the physician.
Court documents cited in reporting indicate that investigators later discovered additional images on devices belonging to the doctor after executing those search warrants.
Many major technology platforms use automated tools designed to detect suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM). These systems analyze uploaded files and compare them with databases of known illegal images maintained by child-protection organizations.
In this case, automated detection by Google identified files in the doctor’s cloud account and reported them to authorities, which is standard practice under laws requiring companies to report suspected exploitation material.
See also: Batavia Chiropractor Secretly Records 180+ Nude Patients
According to information disclosed in search-warrant documents, investigators later found additional nude images of children during searches of devices and digital storage linked to the doctor.
Authorities allege that some of the images were stored across multiple devices and cloud services. The investigation expanded after these discoveries, leading to further charges.
The allegations and evidence have not yet been tested in court.
Police have filed 43 criminal charges against Dr. Poon. The charges include:
Sexual assault
Voyeurism
Making child exploitation material
Possessing child sexual abuse material
Some of the alleged offences date back to 2014, according to reports.
Investigators say the alleged offences involve multiple individuals, though many are identified in court documents only as unknown persons.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario suspended his licence shortly after additional charges were filed.
Similarly, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan also suspended his medical registration pending the outcome of the investigation.
Before the charges were filed, Dr. Poon had gained public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for advocating for changes to border policies affecting international couples separated by travel restrictions.
He founded an advocacy group focused on reunification of cross-border families and appeared in several media interviews discussing the issue.
The charges against Dr. Poon remain before the courts, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Authorities have not disclosed additional details about the ongoing investigation. Court proceedings are expected to determine the outcome of the allegations and the admissibility of evidence obtained during the searches.
(Rh)
