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Amended AIDS Control Act calls for tougher penalties

A new amendment to the AIDS Control Act (後天免疫缺乏症候群防治條例) that passed the Executive Yuan on Wednesday will mandate strict penalties for individuals who spread HIV maliciously or through extreme carelessness.

People who have reasons to believe they might be HIV-positive will be sentenced from one year to seven years in jail if they give blood or infect another person.

This measure is intended to punish individuals who donate blood as a means to obtain a HIV test without having to go to a hospital.

The amendment will be debated at the Legislative Yuan.

"This is a priority issue for many lawmakers," Center for Disease Control (CDC) deputy chief Lin Ding (林頂) said. "We expect it to be passed into law forthwith."

Lin said there have been a few cases in recent years involving people who became infected with the virus after receiving a blood transfusion.

"In one case, we tracked down the donor and found that he had already been told by his doctor to get a HIV test prior to giving blood," he said.

"Under the new amendment, the law would make him liable for infecting another person," he said.

"Anonymous, free HIV screening is now available for everybody in the country," he said.

"It is therefore senseless for someone to wilfully endanger the lives of others by giving blood if one suspects that he or she might be a carrier of the HIV virus," he said.

The sentence would be raised to five to twelve years for people who give blood, have unprotected sex or share needles while knowing they are HIV positive and end up infecting someone.

"If they are aware of their status, then they would have caused deliberate harm and the punishment would be correspondingly higher," Lin said.
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