Jail for man with HIV who lied about past sexual activity before donating blood
SINGAPORE – A man who donated blood at a Health Sciences Authority (HSA) blood donation drive lied that he never had sex with another man.
His blood test results later returned positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
On March 21, the 39-year-old Filipino pleaded guilty to one charge of providing false information in relation to donating blood under the Infectious Diseases Act. He was sentenced to three months’ jail.
Ministry of Health (MOH) prosecutor Tan Jun Ya said that on Jan 12, 2018, the man went to a church along Alexandra Road to donate blood. It was his 11th time donating blood.
Before the donation, he was required to complete a donor health assessment questionnaire and declaration form.
One of the questions on the form asked if he had ever engaged in sexual activity with another male. Another question was if, in the last 12 months, he had engaged in sexual activity with anyone he has known for less than six months.
The man answered no to both questions and declared that all his answers were true, said the MOH prosecutor.
