A medical officer is under fire for preaching on TikTok about HIV being God’s way of punishing those who commit sexual immorality.
Mohd Izham, a trainee doctor at the Kuala Perlis health clinic, shut himself off on social media today, a day after the clip of him preaching drew backlash from netizens, including those calling on the Health Ministry to take action against him. Originally published on Sep. 16, the clip showed Mohd Izham telling his audience about a patient confessing to having multiple sexual partners after testing positive for the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
“I had a bad feeling about it… he either had syphilis, HIV, or gonorrhea, so he took a blood test,” Mohd Izham said in the video about a patient named “Azrul,” even describing the scabs he saw on the patient’s genitals.
“True enough, the patient was HIV-positive,” he added. The medical officer, who has 137,000 followers, also expressed his shock upon hearing Azrul’s purported “scandals.”
“God created HIV [as] a punishment for those who have had premarital sex,” he then said, urging those having sex before marriage to “repent.”
HIV can spread through contact with infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluids regardless of marital status.
The clinic did not immediately respond to Coconuts request for comment regarding Mohd Izham, who is also the administrator of a Facebook group dedicated to the clinic. Mohd Izham’s TikTok has been set to private while his Instagram and Facebook accounts were no longer publicly available. The video has been viewed nearly 150,000 times on Twitter.
“He’s an assistant medical officer,” Twitter user Ardnie said in reaction. “Please avoid people like him if you’re looking to test for HIV or STDs. It will be so stressful. Do not pass judgment and jump to conclusions about patients even if it appears clear to you. It’s wrong.”
Another user Afifizawawie made a complaint on the Health Ministry’s website.
“The comments made are uncalled for, blatantly [equating] the disease as God’s punishment doesn’t contribute to [reducing] the ever-existing stigma. Very unprofessional coming from a medical fraternity.” he wrote.
Dia ni Penolong Pegawai Perubatan.
Kalau ada sesiapa nak buat test HIV atau STD, elakkan la jumpa orang macam ni. Makin stress nanti.
Tak perlu la nak terus judge & jatuhkan hukum walau jelas apa yg pesakit dia buat tu, salah. pic.twitter.com/WHfoQGU0NL
— Indra (@ardnie) September 28, 2021
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