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Man Gets 25 Years Jail Term For Infecting Villagers With HIV

A Cambodian man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday for infecting 270 people with HIV while he was working as an unlicensed doctor in a village. Yem Chrin, 57, was arrested in December 2014 after a routine health check revealed unusually high numbers of HIV-positive villagers in Battambang province’s Roka commune in western Cambodia.

On Thursday, he was found guilty of torture with aggravating circumstances, operating a clinic without a licence, and intentionally spreading HIV, said Toch Sopheakdey, a spokesman for the Battambang Provincial Court of First Instance. Besides a 25-year sentence, Chrin also faces a five-million-riel fine (1,235 dollars).

“This sends a clear message to the other doctors nationwide who are providing medical treatment without a licence to be aware,” Sopheakdey told newsmen. An investigation by UNAIDS, the World Health Organization and local authorities traced the outbreak to Chrin and his reuse of tainted needles.

Credit: Vanguard

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