A 37-year-old HIV-positive man reportedly donated blood during the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming he wanted to help increase blood supplies for the blood banks.
He reportedly made a declaration that he had never engaged in s*xual intercourse with another man before.
The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order protecting his identity, later told the doctor that he had oral s*x with a man in 2017 on a bus in India.
He thought that “s*x” did not include oral s*x.
His blood was subsequently tested positive for HIV and was not used.
The man was charged in court on 3 March 2021, under the Infectious Diseases Act, where he intended to plead guilty.
He visitied a bloodbank at HSA on 3 May last year to donate blood and had filled out a Donor Health Assessment Questionnaire, where he was required to sign and acknowledge the legal document.
The questionnaire had a particular question, asking: “In your entire lifetime: Male Donors: Have you had s*x with another man?”
Which he answered “no”.
However, on the first page of the document, “s*x” was defined as various acts that included oral s*x, but because signatures were not required on the first page, the man said he overlooked this bit of the document.
The doctor then confirmed his answers with which he affirmed were true.
Although the accused pleaded guilty, the judge rejected his plea of guilt because he qualified it by saying that he did not know at the time that oral s*x was considered s*x, which means that he did not knowingly supply a false statement.
The case has been directed to a pre-trial conference next week.
The prosecution is seeking at least 3 months of jail as well as a fine of S$10,000, although they noted that the accused admitted to the offence when the doctor first asked him about it.
The accused brought a luggage with him to court as he told thhe court that he was ready to go to jail.
The man told the judge that he was retrenched 8 months ago and was no longer able to work in Singapore, adding that he spent all his savings and has only $250 left for either rent or food.
He also added that he is a HIV patient but he cannot afford the treatment as he is a foreigner and s uch treatments are not subsidised for him.
He will be returning to court on 12 March for a pre-trial conference.
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