Brochez discloses list of HIV-positive inmates in email; police report lodged

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Prison Service has lodged a police report against American fraudster Mikhy Farrera Brochez, who it said had emailed a list of 13 HIV-positive inmates to some government authorities and media organisations.

The prison service said in a statement on Sunday (Feb 17) that Brochez’s email, which was sent on Saturday, contained photographs of a piece of paper listing identification numbers of 13 inmates — including himself — who were scheduled for a medical check-up on March 28 last year in Changi Prison Complex.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said last month that Brochez had leaked the confidential records of 14,200 HIV-positive individuals, along with 2,400 of their contacts, with information spanning almost three decades from 1985 up to January 2013.

Brochez was released from prison in April last year after serving a 28-month sentence for various fraud and drugs-related offences, as well as lying about his HIV status to gain an employment pass in Singapore. He was then deported, and is now believed to be in the United States.

Brochez “appears to have secured unauthorised possession of a copy of the list prepared for 28 March 2018 by Parkway Shenton, who is SPS’ appointed medical service provider”, said the prison service.

It is now reaching out to the individuals on the list to tell them their information has been illegally disclosed by Brochez.

“We have worked with MOH to provide additional support to those who require it. SPS has lodged a police report and investigations are ongoing,” the prison service added.

In response to TODAY's queries, Parkway Shenton's chief executive officer Edmund Kwok said: "We are aware of the incident. We are assisting fully with the authorities and unable to comment further as investigations are ongoing."

Earlier this week, Facebook removed at least two of Brochez’s accounts for violating its privacy and bullying policies. In several posts on those accounts, Brochez posted a string of allegations against authorities and the prison doctor who treated him. 

In one of the posts, Brochez alleged that it was infectious disease specialist Dr Leong Hoe Nam who gave him a list of HIV-positive inmates while treating him in prison. Dr Leong then said he was shocked to learn of his allegation, and that he never had a copy of the HIV registry.  

Other claims by Brochez included that he was sexually assaulted in prison, which resulted in him contracting HIV, and that he was denied medication for the virus. The authorities then refuted his allegations.