Singapore's Health Ministry announced on January 28 that the records of 14,200 people infected with HIV, mostly foreigners, in the country, was stolen and leaked.

Illustrative image (Source: channelnewsasia.com)

This is the second largest data leak in the country in the last six months.

The ministry said the records of 5,400 Singaporeans diagnosed with HIV from 1985 to January 2013 and 8,800 foreigners, including work and visit pass applicants and holders, diagnosed with HIV from 1985 to December 2011, were illegally leaked online.

The leaked information included their names, identification numbers, phone numbers, addresses, HIV test results and other medical information.

The authorities are making every effort to prevent spread of the information, the ministry said, adding that it is working with relevant parties to scan the internet for signs of further disclosure of the information.

The information was leaked by and is still in the possession of Mikhy K Farrera Brochez, an HIV-positive American who lived in Singapore from 2008 to 2016. He was convicted of numerous fraud and drug offences, as well as lying to the Ministry of Manpower about his HIV status, the health ministry said.

Brochez was remanded in prison in June 2016, sentenced to 28 months in jail and deported from Singapore in April 2018.

Two years later in May 2018, after Brochez had been deported from Singapore, the ministry received information that Brochez still had part of the records. The information did not appear to have been disclosed publicly.

On Jan 22 this year, the ministry was notified by the police that Brochez may still have more information from the HIV registry, and had leaked it online.

Singaporean police affirmed that the case was not related to cybercrime.

In June and July last year, the health records of 1.5 million Singaporean patients, including that of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, were hacked in the worst cyber attack in the country.

Another cyber attack in 2017 targeted the Singaporean Ministry of Defence, but it only managed to access basic information on military conscripts.

(Source: VNA)