A Hamilton GP gave his wife mood-altering medication in a "haphazard and unrecorded way" as his marriage deteriorated, a tribunal was told.
Dr Leon van Rhyn denies charges of disgraceful conduct, including not getting informed consent to forcibly administer drugs.
He was appearing before the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in Hamilton.
Hisformer wife, Margaret van Rhyn, told the tribunal yesterday that she was homesick, tired and unhappy after moving from South Africa to New Zealand in 1993.
Dr van Rhyn began giving her drugs, including anti-depressants and other mood-altering drugs.
"He forced me to take drugs by standing over me and making me swallow," Mrs van Rhyn said.
"I was so drugged that I became like a child, dependent and unable to care for myself."
She said the more sick she became, the more medication her husband forced her to take.
Medical Council lawyer Kate Davenport said doctors had to take extreme caution in treating family members.
"The fact that their marriage was clearly falling apart at this time [in Dr van Rhyn's eyes] makes his position even worse and the need for independent assessment even more compelling."
