American man jailed for 2 years over Singapore HIV database leak

A Kentucky man accused of stealing the database of HIV positive people from Singapore has been sentenced two years in prison in the United States. Mikhy Farrera-Brochez of Winchester faced trial on federal charges of stealing Singaporean identification documents. The Singapore government had accused Brochez of leaking database of 14,200 people who tested HIV positive. In the judgement, the Court found Farrera-Brochez guilty of using the means of identification of over 14,200 people as leverage in his extortion attempt.

“The defendant’s conduct was serious and significant, affecting thousands of people across the world,” said United States Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr.

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Worked as a lecturer in Singapore

According to Singapore’s health ministry, Brochez worked as a lecturer in Singapore but was later deported to the US due to several fraud-related offences. Farrera-Brochez, 34, was convicted in June 2019 on the counts of extortion and unlawfully and knowingly possessing the HIV database. Singapore’s health ministry had claimed that Farrera-Brochez’s partner, to whom he refers as his husband, had access to the database. Farrera-Brochez’s partner, Ler Teck Siang, had headed Ministry’s National Public Health Unit from March 2012 to May 2013. 

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Threatened to continue releasing document

According to an FBI affidavit, Farrera-Brochez reached out to the federal law enforcement agency in January 2019 and claimed that he had possession of important information. “Brochez has personally reached out to several media outlets and revealed his possession of the ... database,” the affidavit said. Farrera-Brochez also wrote a Facebook post accusing Singapore government of imprisoning Ler Teck Siang unlawfully. “will continue releasing this evidence until the (Singapore government) stops the HIV registry and releases my husband Dr. Ler Teck Siang from the unlawful imprisonment based on false charges,” he wrote.

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Seizure of electronic devices, supervised release

The database of 14,200 people, including name and address, suffering from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was dumped online. The US Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky, in a statement, said that Brochez was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. He was also ordered to forfeit the electronic devices and Google accounts he used to commit the crimes. Farrera-Brochez will be on supervised release for three years after serving two years of imprisonment.

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(Inputs from AP)