Medic gets 25 yrs jail over Cambodia HIV outbreak

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH

An unlicensed medic who re-used syringes on hundreds of people -- infecting many with HIV -- was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Cambodian court Thursday morning.

The Cambodia Daily reported that Yem Chrin had stared at the floor as the judge in Battambang Provincial Court convicted him of “operating an unlicensed clinic, spreading AIDS to victims and torture to cause the death of victims.”

The Daily quoted the 56-year-old as saying that he believed he had “treated people honestly”.

The outbreak, which emerged a year ago, has been devastating for the Roka village community in the northwestern province of Battambang, where more than 270 people, from young children to the elderly, have tested positive for the virus.

It came to light last December when an elderly couple both tested positive for HIV, which prompted more people in the area to submit to testing.

As they did, the infection number rose dramatically, with 10 eventually dying, the Daily said.

The government has launched an initiative to crack down on unlicensed health centres since Chin's rogue practice of using the same unchecked syringes on multiple patients emerged.

Marie-Odile Emond, country representative for UNAIDS Cambodia, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that despite the tragedy in Roka, “the situation in Cambodia is that the general provenance has come down quite tremendously in the past 25 years,” with a prevalence rate of 0.6 percent recorded in 2014.

“The new infections are concentrated in urban areas, but both [rural and urban] need attention because in rural area the health facilities are more spread out and that needs to be monitored,” she said Thursday, adding that on average, there are about 1,000 new infections around the country every year.

There are about 54,000 people across the country currently receiving treatment—known as anti-retroviral therapy—to keep their HIV suppressed.

“Some are on treatment for more than 10 years, and if they take it regularly then people are really doing quite well and can take care of their families,” Emond told AA.

“Treatment is free of charge—there are some medical costs… but it’s got some of the highest coverage for treatment among low-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as around the world.”