SINGAPORE: By year's end, all adult male patients admitted to
hospitals will be asked if they would like to take a HIV-screening
test.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament on Tuesday he is also
changing the Infectious Diseases Act soon so that no one will be
able to claim ignorance of one's HIV-positive status as defence
against charges of high-risk behaviour.
He said: "All individuals who engage in high-risk sexual behaviour
must go for regular HIV-testing. The Infectious Diseases Act makes
it an offence for someone who is HIV-positive to have sex without
informing his sexual partner of his HIV status. I will soon come to
this House to amend the Act to clarify that ignorance of one's HIV
status will not be a defence for those who engage in high-risk
sexual behaviour."
Trust our "Opt-Out" Minister to come up with such an idea.
What next?
I predict in response to the headline "60-year-old woman is 8th
person to die from dengue this year", he will say "Ignorance of
dengue is no defence".
Next, if your kid goes to school and catches
chickenpox, don't worry! "Ignorance of chickenpox
is no defence!!" Follow the example of our health minister and sue
the pants off the other child's parents for letting him go to
school.
And when you catch a flu from your sniffling
colleague.... you guessed it!!! "Ignorance is no defence!!" Sue
your company as well too, even if they didn't know he was sick.
After all, remember the motto of the day - "Ignorance is no
defence!!".
