Halifax acupuncturist charged with 2 more counts of sexual assault

Police have charged a Halifax acupuncturist with two more counts of sexual assault in connection with allegations brought forward by two separate woman.

This brings the total number of sexual assault charges against Xiao Han Li to three, all of which relate to different women who came forward to police at different times.

Early Tuesday morning, Halifax police arrested Li, 32, at a Halifax address. Li is an acupuncturist at Qing Li Chinese Therapy on Dresden Row in downtown Halifax. He was scheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court Tuesday to face the two new charges of sexual assault.

Of these charges, police say one sexual assault was reported by a woman who said Li assaulted her at the clinic between February and August 2019.

The other sexual assault charge stems from a report by a different woman who said Li assaulted her in February 2019, also at the clinic.

Previous charge

Those two women came forward to police last month, immediately after police announced they had laid charges against Li relating to a September 2018sexual assault.

In response to questions from CBCNews,Qing Li Murphy, an acupuncturist at the clinic,said in an email that she couldn't say whetherLi was still employed at the clinic, adding thatfurther questions should be directed to Li's lawyer, Mark Knox.

There is no law in Nova Scotia that specifically regulates acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, although there are a number of professional associations that list ethical standards.