PART 4 [5/2019] | Person with HIV infection to undergo counselling, etc. |
22.—(1) The Director-General of Health may require any person who has been diagnosed as having HIV infection —| (a) | to undergo counselling at such time and at such hospital or other place as the Director-General of Health may determine; and [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] | | (b) | to comply with such precautions and safety measures as may be specified by the Director-General of Health. [10/2008; 5/2019] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (2) Any person who fails or refuses to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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| Sexual activity by person with HIV infection |
23.—(1) Subject to subsection (1A), a person who knows that he or she has HIV infection must not engage in any sexual activity with another person unless, before the sexual activity takes place —| (a) | he or she has informed that other person of the risk of contracting HIV infection from him or her; and | | (b) | that other person has voluntarily agreed to accept that risk. [10/2008; 5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who knows that he or she has HIV infection if he or she has maintained an undetectable HIV viral load for at least the prescribed period preceding the sexual activity in question. [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
(1B) A person is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have maintained an undetectable HIV viral load for at least the prescribed period preceding the sexual activity in question if he or she —| (a) | has taken a test within a prescribed period before the sexual activity and obtained a test result issued by a recognised laboratory showing that the person has an undetectable HIV viral load; | | (b) | has taken an earlier test no later than a prescribed amount of time before the test mentioned in paragraph (a) and obtained a test result issued by a recognised laboratory showing that the person has an undetectable HIV viral load; | | (c) | at no time, during the period between the test mentioned in paragraph (b) and the sexual activity in question, has taken a test and obtained a test result issued by a recognised laboratory showing that the person has a detectable HIV viral load; and | | (d) | has adhered to his or her medical treatment for HIV infection as prescribed by his or her medical practitioner, during the period starting on the date he or she takes the test mentioned in paragraph (b) up to and including the date of the sexual activity in question. [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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(1C) For the purposes of subsection (1A) —| (a) | a person has a detectable HIV viral load if the amount of HIV detected in a test carried out for the purpose of ascertaining his or her HIV viral load is at or above the level prescribed by regulations; and | | (b) | a person has an undetectable HIV viral load if the amount of HIV detected in a test carried out for the purpose of ascertaining his or her HIV viral load is below the level prescribed by regulations. [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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(2) A person who does not know that he or she has HIV infection, but who has reason to believe that he or she has, or has been exposed to a significant risk of contracting, HIV infection must not engage in any sexual activity with another person unless —| (a) | before the sexual activity takes place he or she informs that other person of the risk of contracting HIV infection from him or her and that other person voluntarily agrees to accept that risk; | | (b) | he or she has undergone the necessary serological or other test and has ascertained that he or she does not have HIV infection at the time of the sexual activity; or | | (c) | during the sexual activity, he or she takes reasonable precautions to ensure that he or she does not expose that other person to the risk of contracting HIV infection. [10/2008; 5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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| (3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both. [10/2008] |
| (4) For the purposes of this section, a person must not, only by reason of age, be presumed incapable of engaging in sexual activity. [10/2008] |
| (5) For the purposes of this section, a person is deemed to know that he or she has HIV infection if a serological test or other test for the purpose of ascertaining the presence of HIV infection carried out on him or her has given a positive result and the result has been communicated to him or her. [10/2008; 5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (6) No prosecution is to be instituted for an offence under subsection (2) except with the written consent of the Public Prosecutor, but a person charged with such an offence may be arrested and be remanded in custody or released on bail even though the consent of the Public Prosecutor to the institution of a prosecution for the offence has not been obtained, except that the case must not be further prosecuted until that consent of the Public Prosecutor has been obtained. [10/2008; 15/2010] |
(7) In this section, “sexual activity” means —| (a) | sexual activity occasioned by the introduction into the vagina, anus or mouth of any person of any part of the penis of another person; or | | (b) | cunnilingus. [10/2008] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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| Blood donation and other acts by person with HIV infection |
24.—(1) Any person who knows that he or she has HIV infection must not —| (a) | donate blood at any blood bank in Singapore; or | | (b) | do any act which is likely to transmit or spread HIV infection to another person. [5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (2) For the purposes of this section, a person is deemed to know that he or she has HIV infection if a serological test or other test for the purpose of ascertaining the presence of HIV infection carried out on him or her has given a positive result and the result has been communicated to him or her. [10/2008; 5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both. [10/2008] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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| Protection of identity of person with HIV infection or other sexually transmitted disease |
25.—(1) Any person who, in the performance or exercise of his or her functions or duties under this Act, is aware or has reasonable grounds for believing that another person has HIV infection or is suffering from a sexually transmitted disease or is a carrier of that disease must not disclose any information which may identify the other person except —| (a) | with the consent of the other person; | | (b) | when it is necessary to do so in connection with the administration or execution of anything under this Act; | | (c) | when it is necessary to do so in connection with the provision of information to a police officer under section 22 or 424 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010; | | (d) | when ordered to do so by a court; | | (e) | to any medical practitioner or other health staff who is treating or caring for, or counselling, the other person; | | (f) | to any blood, organ, semen or breast milk bank that has received or will receive any blood, organ, semen or breast milk from the other person; | | (g) | for statistical reports and epidemiological purposes if the information is used in such a way that the identity of the other person is not made known; | | (h) | to the victim of a sexual assault by the other person; | | (i) | to the Controller of Immigration for the purposes of the Immigration Act 1959; | | (j) | to the next-of-kin of the other person upon the other person’s death; | | (k) | to any person or class of persons to whom, in the opinion of the Director-General of Health, it is in the public interest that the information be given; or [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] | | (l) | when authorised by the appropriate Minister to publish such information for the purposes of public health or public safety. [10/2008; 15/2010; 5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both. [10/2008] |
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), the consent of the other person includes —| (a) | if that person has died, the written consent of that person’s spouse, personal representative, administrator or executor; | | (b) | if that person is a minor, the written consent of a parent or legal guardian of that person; and [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] | | (c) | if, in the opinion of the medical practitioner who undertook the test for HIV infection for that person, that person has a disability by reason of which he or she appears incapable of giving consent, the written consent in the following order, of —| (i) | a legal guardian of that person; | | (ii) | the spouse of that person; | | (iii) | a parent of that person; or | | (iv) | an adult child of that person. [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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| (4) In this section, “legal guardian” means a person lawfully appointed by deed or will or by the order of a competent court to be the guardian of another person. [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
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| Disclosure by Director-General of Health, medical practitioner and recipient of information |
25A.—(1) The Director-General of Health may disclose any information relating to any person whom the Director-General of Health reasonably believes to be infected with HIV infection to —| (a) | any medical practitioner or other health staff who has been exposed to a risk of infection from HIV infection; or | | (b) | any first responder who has experienced a significant exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials of any patient. [5/2019] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (2) In subsection (1), “first responder” means any police officer, member of the Singapore Civil Defence Force or any person who provides emergency response, first aid care or other medically related assistance either in the course of the person’s occupational duties or as a volunteer. |
| (3) Subject to subsection (4), a medical practitioner may disclose information relating to any person whom the medical practitioner reasonably believes to be infected with HIV infection to the spouse, former spouse or other contact of the infected person or to a Health Officer for the purpose of making the disclosure to the spouse, former spouse or other contact. [5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
(4) The medical practitioner must not disclose any information under subsection (3) unless the medical practitioner —| (a) | reasonably believes that it is medically appropriate and that there is a significant risk of infection to the spouse, former spouse or other contact; | | (b) | has counselled the infected person regarding the need to notify the spouse, former spouse or other contact and the medical practitioner reasonably believes that the infected person will not inform the spouse, former spouse or other contact; and | | (c) | has informed the infected person of the medical practitioner’s intent to make such disclosure to the spouse, former spouse or other contact. |
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| (5) Where the medical practitioner is unable, by any reasonable means, to counsel or inform the infected person, the medical practitioner may apply to the Director-General of Health to waive the requirements of subsection (4)(b) or (c) or both. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] |
| (6) The Director-General of Health may approve the application made under subsection (5) if, in the opinion of the Director-General of Health, it is medically appropriate to disclose the information and there is a significant risk of infection to the spouse, former spouse or other contact. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] |
| (7) A person, to whom any information relating to another person who is reasonably believed to be infected with HIV infection has been disclosed under this section, must not disclose such information to any person other than the persons specified in subsection (8) or as provided in subsection (10). [5/2019] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
(8) The persons mentioned in subsection (7) are —| (a) | the infected person himself or herself; | | (b) | a person who is authorised under section 25(1)(a) to consent to such disclosure; and | | (c) | any person who is authorised to disclose such information under subsection (1), (3) or (6) or section 25(1). |
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| (9) Any person who contravenes subsection (7) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both. |
| (10) A person, to whom any information relating to a person who is reasonably believed to be infected with HIV infection has been disclosed under this section, may apply to the Director-General of Health for approval to disclose such information to any person or class of persons. [5/2019] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] |
| (11) The Director-General of Health may approve the application under subsection (10) if the Director-General of Health is satisfied that such disclosure is in the interests of public health or public safety. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] |
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