South-eastern Asia

Cambodia enacted an HIV-specific law in 2002 (full text of the law can be found at the Global Criminalisation Scan). Articles 18 and 50 of the Law on the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS stipulates that any practise or acts of those who know they are HIV-positive, and who intend to transmit HIV, is punishable with a minimum of ten years’ imprisonment and maximum possible sentence of 15 years. In 2006, a man was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for raping his wife without using a condom.¹

Indonesia’s government has been considering criminalising “intentional transmission of any infectious disease”, with a maximum prison term of five years. No reports have emerged of this having become law. More recently, legislators in the province of Papua proposed a law that would require people living with HIV to be implanted with microchips so that authorities could monitor their behaviour. The proposal called for a prison sentence of up to six months for HIV-positive people found to be “actively seeking sexual intercourse”.²

Malaysia's government announced in 2006 that it was planning to criminalise blood donation by people aware they are HIV-positive.³ Penalties would include fine and imprisonment. There are no further reports regarding whether these measures have been imposed.

Singapore updated its Penal Code to criminalise unprotected sex without disclosure of one’s HIV-positive status in 1992. There have been three reported investigations and two prosecutions, all since 2005. Only one, in 2008, resulted in a prison sentence.⁴ The same year, Singapore amended its public health laws to also make it a crime for an HIV-positive person who is unaware of his or her HIV status, but has “reason to believe” he or she could be infected, to have sex without informing a sexual partner of the possible risk, or else to take “reasonable precautions” to protect the partner. At the same time, the maximum penalty for breaking either of the laws was increased to ten years in prison. The most recent changes to Singapore's public health law were criticised by UNAIDS⁵ and local HIV advocates.⁶

Vietnam passed an HIV-specific law in 2006 that obliges people who know they are living with HIV to inform their spouses or fiancé(e)s and to apply measures to prevent HIV transmission  (full text of the law can be found at the Global Criminalisation Scan). Purposefully transmitting or causing transmission of HIV to another person is criminalised in the Law on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, as is threatening to transmit HIV to another person. There are no reports of prosecutions.