Mikhy K Farrera-Brochez, the American who leaked confidential information from the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) HIV Registry, spoke up on Wednesday in a series of Facebook posts on the case currently against him.

And in response to his numerous claims on Wednesday evening, Singapore's police, prisons and MOH declared them false, unsubstantiated with evidence and also called Brochez a "pathological liar".

Earlier Wednesday, Brochez put up an initial lengthy post claiming that he neither stole the HIV registry, nor leaked it to the public.

Accompanied by several photos, the post by Brochez, which he claims was subsequently removed by Facebook, alleged, among other things:

• that the data from the HIV registry was stolen and leaked by another party,
• that he was trying to help by informing the Singapore government about the leak, only to be ignored, and
• that he only contracted HIV in Changi Prison after being gang-raped.

Summary of Facebook post

As Brochez's post is rather lengthy (the screenshots of which we reproduce at the end of this article), here is a summary of all the allegations and claims he has made in his post:

1st claim: Data was stolen and leaked by another party, which Brochez unsuccessfully attempted to inform MOH about

• The database was supposedly stolen by two other individuals — Zachary Levine and an Indonesian named Fairuz Widjat, with Levine having allegedly posted the HIV registry to Facebook in 2012.

  • Levine's relation to Brochez was apparently through a sexual relationship he shared with Brochez's partner, Ler Teck Siang.

• Brochez subsequently claims he took a screenshot of Levine's post, which he sent to multiple MOH staff.
• Brochez claimed the staff covered the matter up, with one allegedly saying there was nothing wrong with the HIV registry being made public, as it wasn't against the law in Singapore.
• Brochez claimed that he then escalated the issue, in 2013, to then Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower Amy Khor.
• Brochez also claimed that he was threatened repeatedly by a MOH staff member and the Deputy Director of Investigations into silence.

2nd claim: Arrested under false charges to cover up the leak

• Brochez alleged next that both Ler and him had been arrested by Minister of Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam under false charges.
• Brochez stated that this was part of the efforts of the "Lee regime" to cover up the matter and that the government was avoiding responsibility for it by charging the two of them.
• Additionally, the HIV registry is allegedly part of the government's efforts in tracking gay men.
• Brochez also rejected the parliamentary statement by Minister of Health Gan Kim Yong that his mother had given the Singaporean government permission to search her email account.
• Brochez also claimed that he has offered to surrender himself to the Singapore Police.

3rd claim: Contracted HIV from a gang rape in Changi Prison

• While in Changi Prison, Brochez alleged he was placed in a cell with Muslim inmates whereupon he was gang raped and infected with HIV.
• Brochez claimed that when he reported the incident to the Deputy Superintendent of Prisons (DSP), the DSP allegedly told him he should have enjoyed it as he was gay.
• Brochez further alleged that two prosecutors from the Attorney-General's Chambers had also interfered with his medical treatment in prison.
• He claimed that the DSP had told him he would only receive his medication when he pleaded guilty.
• Brochez claimed that he was also subjected to torture in prison.

The timeline to the sequence of these events he claims to have happened is also unclear.

Brochez concluded his post with the claim that he has been a victim of scapegoating, repeating his claim that there was a cover-up by the Singapore government.

Government agencies respond

The Singapore Police Force, the Ministry of Health and the Singapore Prison Services responded to Brochez's posts in two statements, which we summarise here as well:

1) Did Zachary Levine steal and leak the HIV registry info? No evidence of that was found.

"Police investigation, which included an interview and examination of Levine's electronic devices seized from his residence, did not reveal any evidence to suggest that Zachary was either in possession of any MOH-related files, or had shared any HIV Registry data".

Moreover, Brochez was unable to back up his claim that Levine had shared screenshots of the HIV Registry with any evidence.

2a) Was Brochez raped in prison? Not only is this a lie, he himself committed "a litany of institutional offences"

On Brochez's alleged prison rape, the statement noted that the Criminal Investigation Department found his claim to be false.

"On the contrary, during Brochez's imprisonment, he committed a litany of institutional offences, including assaulting a fellow inmate."

2b) He is also lying about having contracted HIV in prison. He himself declared his since-2008 HIV-positive status in 2016 when he first checked into prison, but refused to let them run blood tests on him to confirm his condition.

Additionally, the statement said, Brochez had declared he was HIV-positive at the time he was admitted into prison in 2016, and even said it was the case since 2008.

"He however refused to submit himself for the necessary blood tests for the purposes of ascertaining his medical condition and of treatment."

3) Because of that, they had to confirm his medical condition with MOH before being able to give him medication.

The Prisons department said they then provided Brochez with relevant medication after confirming his condition with MOH.

4) A couple of other things they deigned to respond to:

The statement also added that the AGC did not interfere with his treatment as it does not actually have the authority to do so.

Nonetheless, the police said they welcome Brochez to return to Singapore to assist with its investigations.

Here's their statement in full:

"Joint SPF-SPS Statement in Response to allegations made in Mikhy Brochez’s Facebook Post

The Police and Prisons refer to allegations made by Mikhy Brochez on his Facebook on 13 Feb 2019. MOH has explained in Parliament on 12 Feb the circumstances surrounding the leak, and Brochez’s culpability.

Police and Prisons will set out below the response to some specific allegations made by Brochez, about the investigations and his incarceration.

Allegation #1: HIV Registry was leaked by Zachary Levine

Brochez has said that a Zachary Levine was the one who leaked the HIV registry. In 2016, Police had investigated Levine following similar allegations levelled by Brochez. Police’s investigation, which included an interview and examination of Levine’s electronic devices seized from his residence, did not reveal any evidence to suggest that Zachary was either in possession of any MOH-related files, or had shared any HIV registry data.

Prior to 2016, Brochez also claimed in correspondences with MOH that Dr Ler and Levine had shared screenshots of Brochez’s own record in the HIV registry, but Brochez was never able to produce verifiable evidence to support this claim.

Allegation #2: Brochez was abused while in Police custody

Brochez has made claims that he was tortured while in Police custody. This is untrue. This allegation was investigated by the Police’s Internal Affairs Office. The Office found that the allegations were untrue.

Allegation #3: Brochez was sexually assaulted and contracted HIV in Prison

Brochez has said that he had contracted HIV when he was sexually assaulted while in Prisons. This allegation of being sexually assaulted in Prison was investigated by CID and found to be untrue. On the contrary, during Brochez’s imprisonment, he committed a litany of institutional offences, including assaulting a fellow inmate. It is a matter of record that Brochez had contracted HIV, years before he was admitted into Prison in 2016.

Allegation #4: Brochez was denied HIV medication while in Prison

He has claimed that he was denied HIV medication to manage his condition. This is untrue. When Brochez was admitted into Prison in June 2016, he had declared that he had been HIV positive since 2008. He however refused to submit himself for the necessary blood tests for the purposes of ascertaining his medical condition and of treatment. Prisons eventually checked with MOH, (given his refusal), and subsequently provided him with the necessary medication. AGC did not interfere with his medical treatment as he alleged and in fact, AGC has no authority to do so.

Conclusion

Brochez had been tried and found guilty by the Singapore Courts. He was accorded due legal process. He has now made baseless allegations about the investigations as well as against Police and Prisons. His actions have shown him to be a pathological liar.

Nevertheless, we welcome him to come back to Singapore to assist with Police investigations.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

13 February 2019 @ 8:06PM"

5) Is the HIV registry targeted at gay men? No. Everyone knows it exists and stats are published annually too.

Here's MOH's statement in full:

"1. Brochez continues to make allegations which are either false or unsubstantiated with any evidence.

2. The matter has been thoroughly investigated by both the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Police. Brochez was convicted in Court for fraud and various drug offences. Should new evidence emerge, we will investigate accordingly.

3. The Minister for Health had provided a Ministerial Statement in Parliament on 12 February 2019 giving a full account of the incident.

4. We have explained the public health reasons for the HIV Registry. Brochez’s allegations that the HIV registry is used to target a group of men with specific sexual orientation is untrue. The fact that there is such a registry is public knowledge and statistics on HIV infection rates from the HIV Registry are published annually.

5. We have indicated that Brochez may have possession of further information, and may reveal it in future. He has now threatened to do so, and MOH will work with the Police to take appropriate actions.

6. Our priority remains the wellbeing of the affected individuals. We appeal to members of the public not to retain or share such information, as it could cause distress and anxiety amongst those affected. Please alert the Police should you come across such information."

And in case you're interested, here's Brochez's Facebook post in full:

And here are the photos accompanying it:

Top image collage left image from mugshots.com, right photo from Yvonne McDonald Facebook

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