A B.C. man has been charged with sexual assault after he allegedly touched a young woman inappropriately during what he sold to her as a 'cleansing ritual.'
The BC Prosecution Service approved the charge against 56-year-old Tianjin Gong on Aug. 23.
Earlier in the month, on Aug. 5, Burnaby RCMP say they received a sexual assault report. A 29-year-old woman told police she had been in Crystal Mall when a man approached her and told her he was a Taoist Master and Chinese medicine practitioner who could improve her health and life with a so-called 'cleansing ritual.'
The woman told police she accepted the man's offer and drove with him to a separate location. There, the man allegedly performed the ritual and touched the young woman inappropriately.
Gong was arrested at a mall in Richmond on Aug. 22 and charged the next day. He has been released from custody, but remains under a number of conditions, including not to contact the victim or leave the province.
Burnaby RCMP say their investigation into the incident is ongoing.
