Kentucky man is suspected of leaking 14,200 HIV records from Singapore
A Lexington man is suspected of leaking the records of 14,200 people from an HIV registry in Singapore, according to a TV station in Southeast Asia.
Mikhy Farrera-Brochez, 34, was deported from Singapore in 2018 after serving a 28-month sentence for drug-related offenses and fraud, including lying about his HIV status, according to Channel NewsAsia based in Singapore.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health identified Farrera-Brochez as the suspected leaker on Monday. He could not be immediately reached for comment and there was no answer Thursday afternoon at his Lexington address.
Farrera-Brochez is believed to have obtained the HIV registry records from a Singapore doctor who worked for the country’s ministry of health and who had access to the registry, Channel NewsAsia reported.
The station reported that Farrera-Brochez used blood samples from his partner, the Singapore doctor, so he could work in Singapore.
The doctor was charged in 2016 for failing to retain possession of a thumb drive containing data from the HIV registry.
The leaked records included 5,400 Singaporeans diagnosed with HIV up to January 2013, and 8,800 foreigners diagnosed up to December 2011, the Reuters news agency reported. The information included the names, ID numbers and addresses.
The health ministry did not say where the information was leaked online.
Meanwhile, Farrera-Brochez was arrested Dec. 8 on a charge of third-degree criminal trespassing in Clark County, according to court records there.
His mother told a deputy sheriff that Farrera-Brochez was banging on her front door. When a Clark County deputy sheriff arrived, Farrera-Brochez was seen sitting on the front porch.
Police had instructed Farrera-Brochez in a previous incident in September that he was not to be on the property or he would be charged with trespassing.
Farrera-Brochez was arrested and lodged in the Clark County jail at the time but was released a couple of days later. A district court trial is scheduled for Feb. 18.
This story was originally published January 31, 2019 at 2:27 PM.