Article 5

Ignorance is no excuse for infecting others
S'pore will introduce law to to hold those who do not know they are HIV-infected responsible for their actions

By Lee Hui Chieh
Last year, a record high of 357 people here were found to be HIV-positive. More than nine in 10 were infected through sex. -- PHOTO: ST

ENGAGING in sex while infected with the virus might soon be made a crime, regardless of whether you know you are HIV-positive or not.

The Health Ministry wants to take this major step to curb the spread of Aids, as educating the public on the HIV virus has proven ineffective.

It is proposing a change to the Infectious Diseases Act to put the onus on individuals, especially those in high risk groups, to get themselves checked medically and to behave responsibly towards their sex partners.

The amendments, up for public consultation, will affect anyone who 'although unaware he is HIV-positive, has reason to believe he has been exposed to the risk of contracting HIV or Aids', said the Health Ministry.

Risk groups would include people who have unprotected sex with multiple partners, share needles to inject drugs or have had sex with someone they later found out to be HIV-positive.
If the changes are approved, they would be obliged not to engage in sex, unless they have taken any of the following measures:

•Warned their partners of the risk of contracting HIV from them, and gone ahead with sex only if their partners agreed to accept this risk.

•Taken a HIV test, been found negative, and not have engaged in risky behaviour exposing them to the virus between the time of the test and having sex with their partners.

•Taken 'reasonable precautions' during sex, such as using condoms.

If the legislation is approved, Singapore might well be the first country in the world to hold those who do not know they are HIV-infected responsible for their actions.

As the law now stands, it is an offence for an HIV-positive person to have sex only if he already knows he is infected, and goes ahead without getting his partner's informed consent. This law, which is similar to legislation elsewhere, will remain in place.

What will also remain intact - it does not matter if the sexual partner does not end up getting infected, as long as the sexual act occurred.

The maximum penalty for the offence will be raised, from a $10,000 fine and two years' jail, to a $50,000 fine and 10 years' jail. Those who run afoul of the proposed new law will also be subject to the higher penalties.

Said the ministry's senior director of operations, Mr Koh Peng Keng, 'It's very easy to hide behind the veneer of 'I don't know'... but that's not a good-enough excuse. This law is to say: You have a responsibility to whoever you have sexual intercourse with, that you don't pass HIV to him or her.'

Other countries consider an offence for a HIV-infected person to have sex without his partners' informed consent only when he is aware of his condition.

On why the Ministry has decided to take such a radical move, its director of medical services, Professor K. Satku, said, 'There are concerns that with all the education that we have done, we are still unable to contain the problem. 'Legislation may be useful in curbing the problem, even if it doesn't resolve it.'

He cited the example of how banning smoking in more places has reduced the number of smokers here, and hoped that the new law would push more people into getting tested regularly.

Last year, a record high of 357 people here were found to be HIV-positive. More than nine in 10 were infected through sex.

Madam Halimah Yacob, who heads the Goverment Parliamentary Committee for Health, acknowledged that major changes were being proposed. 'But the overriding consideration is to protect the innocent against irresponsible behaviour of some who should have known that their lifestyle would expose them to the risk of getting HIV,' she said.