The man in possession of confidential medical information of HIV-positive people in Singapore has been ordered by a US court to immediately surrender all the data he somehow obtained from the Ministry of Health (MOH) registry.
Channel NewsAsia reported that Mikhy Brochez, 34, has been given a strict deadline of Mar 29 to permanently delete all the information he stole from MOH and the Singapore Prisons Service.
Last month, the man was charged in the United States with possession and unlawful transfer of stolen documents. Authorities accused the HIV-positive American, who was jailed in Singapore and deported in 2018, of leaking the data after obtaining it from his Singaporean doctor husband.
Confidential data of 14,200 people diagnosed with HIV, had been leaked online in January, provoking an outcry in Singapore, especially among the LGBT community and NGOs involved in the fight against AIDS.
“While living in the eastern district of Kentucky, (Brochez) sent links to the data from his e-mail account to several news outlets,” according to a statement from the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of Kentucky.
“He also sent e-mails to several government officials in Singapore containing links to the data.”
CNA reported that he emailed links to the data to local media outlets, including Alvinology, Mothership and The Straits Times.
The US district judge also ordered anyone that received the data from Brochez to permanently destroy them.
With the court stating that it’s likely that he broke US laws when he leaked the information, Brochez could face a combined sentence of seven years in prison. Prosecutors could even appeal for a heavier punishment.
On his part, Brochez insists that he’s a victim of a massive conspiracy cooked up by the Singapore government, and remains obsessed with clearing his name as well as seeking for the release of his husband, who remains detained in Singapore.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said this month that Singapore would “spare no effort” to bring Brochez back and prosecute him, and denied the government had sought to cover up the leak. Though Singapore and the US have an extradition treaty, it remains unclear if Brochez will be sent to the city-state, where he was formerly jailed for lying about his HIV status, drug-related offenses, and fraud.
