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A 27-year-old man lied to authorities about his sexual history when he donated blood.
As a result, his blood was found to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The Straits Times reported that the Malaysian man, who cannot be named due to a gag order, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (May 3) to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.
He was sentenced to three months and two weeks' jail.
Background information
Andre Moses Tan, a prosecutor for the Ministry of Health (MOH), told the court that the man had sex with a former girlfriend in February 2020.
In August 2020, the man had sex with another man.
However, it is unknown how and when the man contracted the HIV virus.
There is no cure for HIV, but it can be treated with medication.
The man decided to donate blood in October 2020.
In order to do so, he had to complete a donor health assessment questionnaire, which asked him if he had sex with more than one partner in the last 12 months, and if he had ever had sex with another man.
He answered "no" to both questions.
Additionally, the man was later interviewed by a medical screener from the Health Sciences Authority's (HSA) blood services group after completing the questionnaire.
She told him that he could be prosecuted if any of the answers he had given were false or misleading, and that he could call a 24-hour hotline if he felt that his blood should not be transfused to another person.
However, the man did not change his answers nor call the hotline despite being informed.
It is unknown whether he knew about his infection prior to donating blood.
The man's blood was tested and found to be HIV-positive.
A doctor from HSA's blood services group then interviewed the man on Nov. 2, to which he admitted that he had sex with another man.
An MOH public health officer then interviewed the man on Nov. 5, and he admitted the same detail to her.
MOH's enforcement branch was alerted to the man's case on Nov. 11, and he was charged in court in 2021.
The man was represented by lawyers Ashwin Ganapathy and Victoria Tay of I.B.R. Law on a pro-bono basis, ST reported.
In court, Tay said her client was currently unemployed prior to working in the F&B industry.
The man had been living off his savings for the last two years, but he had received a small allowance through the help of social workers at the non-governmental organisation Transient Workers Count Too.
The organisation aims to improve conditions for low-wage migrant workers.
If one is found to have committed an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act, one can be jailed for up to two years and be fined up to S$20,000.
Top photo via IStock