HIV man jailed in Singapore for lying at blood bank

Neo Swee Chye, a 30-year-old electrician, became the first person in the city-state to be convicted of giving false information under the Infectious Diseases Act, The Straits Times said. District Judge Siva Shanmugam described Neo's actions as "utterly irresponsible." Neo, who was unrepresented by a lawyer, told the court he was in a hurry to complete the questionnaire and was unaware he was infected with the AIDS-causing virus when he went to a mobile blood bank last June 25.

He stated falsely that he had not indulged in paid sex three months after he had unprotected sex with a prostitute on the Indonesian island of Batam, the court heard. The Ministry of Health's epidemiology and disease control division was informed a sample of Neo's blood had tested positive for HIV and the tainted blood has since been destroyed. "I was unaware that I was infected when I donated the blood," Neo was quoted as saying in mitigation. He said he now faces discrimination and is likely to be fired from his job. Deputy Public Prosecutor Francis Ng said Neo could have caused "irreparable harm". The Ministry of Health said the state-of-the-art methods used to test donated blood are comparable to those used by U.S. and British blood banks. Donors were exhorted to be "truthful in their responses" to the questionnaire.

(dpa)