SINGAPORE: A man infected with the HIV virus was on
Wednesday sentenced to 18 months' jail for failing to inform
another man of his status before they had sex.
The 27-year-old former civil engineer was found
guilty of one charge of contravening the Infectious Diseases
Act.
He is also the first person to be sentenced under
the new Act, which was amended in 2008 to increase the maximum
punishment to a jail term of ten years and a S$50,000 fine.
The court was told that the two men engaged in oral and anal sex
sometime in January 2009.
The offender did not inform his partner of the risk of contracting
HIV from him, despite being aware of the consequences of his
actions.
In his mitigation, he said he found it difficult to disclose his
HIV-positive status.
He said the intention was not to harm the victim, but was one of
"self-protection" as he was afraid of being "abandoned by his
social circle".
He told the court his condition was under control by medication
when he met the victim and that they had protected sex.
However, the prosecutor for the Ministry of Health, K Kalaithasan,
called for a jail term of more than a year, saying the victim would
not have engaged in sexual activity if he had known about the man's
HIV status.
The court also heard that the victim is currently infected with HIV
as well, although the source of the virus is not known.
In sentencing, District Judge Siva Shanmugam said the nature of the
offence was "grave".
He said by failing to inform the victim for his "own selfish
reasons", the offender had "endangered the safety of others".
- CNA/al