YOU have a torrid sex life and believe you do not have Aids. But if you are HIV-positive and have sex - even if you have no idea you are infected - you could be committing a crime.

The Health Ministry is taking an 'ignorance is no excuse' approach 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 Ministry of Health.

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 go through, they would be obliged not to engage in sex, unless they have taken at least one 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 an 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.

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 telling his partner about it. 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.

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 you have to be responsible for your actions.

'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.'

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

Asked why the ministry decided on 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, some individuals still do not practise safe sex and go for regular testing.

'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 the new law would push more to get 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 Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, acknowledged that major changes were being proposed.

'But the overriding consideration is to protect the innocent against the irresponsible behaviour of some who should have known that their lifestyle would expose them to the risk of getting HIV,' she said.

Proving a person had reason to believe he might have contracted HIV, however, could pose problems, she added.

Yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who hinted at the proposed change when he spoke in Parliament last week, told reporters: 'My job is not to get into everybody's bedrooms. But it is to send a clear signal to those who are involved in high-risk sexual activities on what they need to do.

'So if you insist on harming yourself, then at least do CRT - use condoms and get regular testing.'

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huichieh@sph.com.sg

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