Jail for HIV-positive man who convinced wife to work as sex worker after she contracted virus
SINGAPORE – A man who has the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) convinced his wife to continue working as a sex worker, even after she was found with the same incurable infection.
The woman, 44, complied as the family was facing financial woes following their child’s birth, and did not tell her clients about her condition.
On July 22, the 37-year-old man was sentenced to a year and eight months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to four charges, including two for getting a woman to work as a sex worker.
Fourteen other charges, including instigating his wife to not tell her sexual partners about her condition, were considered during sentencing.
Court documents did not disclose the outcome of the case involving the 44-year-old woman, whom the prosecution referred to as the victim.
The couple, who cannot be identified due to a gag order, had met online and began dating in 2014. The man then told the woman that he is HIV-positive.
The pair were living together in a rented home when he suggested the woman become a sex worker to earn “fast cash”.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tin Shu Min told the court: “The victim initially disagreed to the accused’s suggestion. However, the accused eventually persuaded her to agree by alluding to their financial difficulty.”The couple would go to Geylang, where the victim would wait by the road as the man solicited customers for her. After that, the man would escort her to a hotel by trailing her and her client.
He would then wait for the victim outside the hotel, and instructed her to call him for help if there was any trouble.
They charged between $70 and $90 for her services, depending on whether a condom was used.
In September 2017, the victim was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for reasons not stated in court documents, and was diagnosed with HIV.
The DPP said: “To the knowledge of both parties, the victim had contracted HIV from the accused.”
