US citizen charged with leaking data of 14,000 HIV-positive people in Singapore
- Country:
- Singapore
- United States
Singapore police said on Wednesday a U.S. citizen accused of leaking the names of more than 14,000 HIV-positive people was "a pathological liar", in a case that has raised concerns over data privacy in the city-state. Singapore deported Mikhy Farrera Brochez last year after convicting him on numerous drug-related and fraud offences, including lying about his own HIV status.
Singapore's health ministry said on Jan. 28 that Brochez had disclosed online the personal information, including names, ID numbers, phone numbers and addresses, of 5,400 Singaporeans diagnosed with HIV up to January 2013 and of 8,800 foreigners diagnosed up to December 2011. Speaking publicly for the first time since the ministry's accusations, Brochez said in a now-deleted Facebook post that he was not the one who leaked the data.
Brochez also said he had only contracted the HIV virus while in a Singapore prison and that he had been refused HIV medication there. "Brochez had been tried and found guilty by the Singapore Courts. He was accorded due legal process. He has now made baseless allegations about the investigations as well as against Police and Prisons," the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Prisons Service said in a strongly worded joint statement.
"His actions have shown him to be a pathological liar." It was unclear why the Facebook post was no longer available. Brochez did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Facebook could not be immediately reached for comment.
Singapore's health minister, Gan Kim Yong told parliament on Tuesday that Brochez might still possess "more files", without elaborating. The HIV data leak, which came after a major cyber attack last year on Singapore's national health database, risks further denting the highly wired city state's efforts to promote itself as a data and health care hub.
In response to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, many countries introduced restrictions on entry against HIV-infected travellers and foreign workers. Singapore remains among a small number of developed countries that maintain some restrictions on long-term visit passes and work visas.
(With inputs from agencies.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Gastronomy in Singapore
- Singapore Sling
- Singapore Pools
- M1 Limited
- National University of Singapore
- Internet leak
- The Police
- The Citizen
- Citizen Khan
- Citizens Advice
- This Is Us
- Prison riot
- Prison Architect
- Prison School
- One Rank- One Pension
- The One Show
- One Direction
- Singapore Army
- Central Provident Fund
- South Korea
ALSO READ
FEATURE-Rain check: Climate change hits vulnerable Indonesian trans women
Biden criticises Israel for death of 7 aid workers in Gaza strike, says not enough done to protect civilians
Joe Biden sharply criticises Israel after killing of Gaza aid workers, says it 'has not done enough' to protect civilians, reports AP.
COLUMN-Distillate futures see big outflow of speculative money: Kemp
Taiwan hit by strongest quake in 25 years, one death reported