UNAUTHORISED POSSESSION AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FROM HIV REGISTRY28th Jan 2019
1. Following an alert by the Police, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has ascertained that confidential information regarding
14,200 individuals diagnosed with HIV up to January 2013, and
2,400 of their contacts, is in the possession of an unauthorised person. The information has been illegally disclosed online. We have worked with the relevant parties to disable access to the information.
2. We are sorry for the anxiety and distress caused by this incident. Our priority is the wellbeing of the affected individuals. Since 26 January, we have been progressively contacting the individuals to notify them and render assistance.
3. On 22 January, MOH was notified by the Police that confidential information from MOH’s HIV Registry[1] may have been disclosed by an unauthorised person. MOH made a Police report on 23 January. On 24 January, MOH ascertained that the information matched the HIV Registry’s records up to January 2013.From 24 to 25 January, MOH worked with the relevant parties to disable access to the information.
4. The records were those of
5,400 Singaporeans diagnosed with HIV up to January 2013 and
8,800 foreigners[2] diagnosed with HIV up to December 2011. The information included their
name, identification number, contact details (phone number and address), HIV test results and related medical information. The name, identification number, phone number and address of 2,400 individuals identified through contact tracing up to May 2007 were also included.
5. While access to the confidential information has been disabled, it is still in the possession of the unauthorised person, and could still be publicly disclosed in the future. We are working with relevant parties to scan the Internet for signs of further disclosure of the information.
Background6.
The confidential information is in the illegal possession of one Mikhy K Farrera Brochez, a male US citizen who was residing in Singapore, on an employment pass, between January 2008 and June 2016. Brochez was remanded in Prison in June 2016. He was
convicted of numerous fraud and drug-related offences in March 2017, and sentenced to
28 months’ imprisonment. The fraud offences were in relation to Brochez lying about his HIV status to the Ministry of Manpower, in order to obtain and maintain his employment pass, furnishing false information to Police officers during a criminal investigation, and using forged degree certificates in job applications. Upon completing his sentence, Brochez was deported from Singapore. He currently remains outside Singapore.
7. Brochez was a partner of
Ler Teck Siang, a male Singaporean doctor. As the Head of MOH’s National Public Health Unit (NPHU) from March 2012 to May 2013, Ler had authority to access information in the HIV Registry as required for his work. Ler resigned in January 2014. He was
charged in Court in June 2016 for offences under the
Penal Code and the
Official Secrets Act (OSA). In September 2018, Ler was convicted of abetting Brochez to commit cheating, and also of providing false information to the Police and MOH. He was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. Ler has appealed, and his appeal is scheduled to be heard in March 2019. In addition, Ler has been
charged under the OSA for failing to take reasonable care of confidential information regarding HIV-positive patients. Ler’s charge under the OSA is pending before the Courts.
8. In May 2016, MOH had lodged a Police report after receiving information that Brochez was in possession of confidential information that appeared to be from the HIV Registry. Their properties were searched, and all relevant material found were seized and secured by the Police.
9. In May 2018, after Brochez had been deported from Singapore, MOH received information that Brochez still had part of the records he had in 2016. The information did not appear to have been disclosed in any public manner. MOH lodged a police report, and contacted the affected individuals to notify them.
10. On 22 January 2019, MOH was notified that more information from the HIV Registry could still be in the illegal possession of Brochez. On this occasion, he had disclosed the information online.
11. Brochez is currently under Police investigation for various offences, and the authorities are seeking assistance from their foreign counterparts.
12. This incident is believed to have arisen from the mishandling of information by Ler, who is suspected of not having complied with the policies and guidelines on the handling of confidential information. MOH takes a grave view of such matters, and will not hesitate to take stern action against staff and other individuals who abuse their authority and access to confidential information, or fail to handle such information in a proper manner.
Additional Safeguards in Disease Registries13. Since 2016, additional safeguards against mishandling of information by authorised staff have been put in place. For example, a two-person approval process to download and decrypt Registry information was implemented in September 2016, to ensure that the information cannot be accessed by a single person. A workstation specifically configured and locked down to prevent unauthorised information removal was designated for processing of sensitive information from the HIV Registry. The use of unauthorised portable storage devices on official computers was disabled in MOH in 2017, as part of a government-wide policy.
14. MOH will continue to regularly review our systems to ensure that they remain secure and that the necessary safeguards are in place.
15. We appeal to members of the public to notify MOH immediately should they come across information related to this incident, and not further share it. Members of the public who have such information or other concerns can contact our hotline at 6325 9220.
[1] The HIV Registry contains information concerning individuals diagnosed with HIV, a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases Act (IDA). MOH relies on information from the Registry to monitor the HIV infection situation, conduct contact tracing in relation to HIV patients and assess disease prevention and management measures.
[2] This includes work and visit pass applicants/ holders.
Source:
https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/unauthorised-possession-and-disclosure-of-information-from-hiv-registry
HIV data leak: What we know about Mikhy Farrera BrochezBy Afifah Darke | 28 Jan 2019
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (Jan 28) announced
that the HIV-positive status and personal information of 14,200 people
from Singapore’s HIV registry were leaked online by US citizen Mikhy Farrera Brochez, who had previously worked here as a
lecturer in two polytechnics.
Brochez, who was deported in April last year, was jailed in 2016 for
lying about his HIV status to gain an employment pass.
The 32-year-old, who was also convicted of fraud and drug-related
offences, was sentenced to 28 months’ jail.
Here’s what we know about him:
*HOW DID BROCHEZ LEAK THE INFORMATION? *Brochez was the romantic partner of Ler Teck Siang, a male Singaporean
doctor who was the former head of the National Public Health Unit
at the Ministry of Health (MOH) between March 2012 and May 2013.
According to court documents, the couple started living together in
Singapore in 2008. They got married in New York City on Apr 24, 2014.
As head of MOH's National Public Health Unit, Ler had authority to
access information in the HIV Registry as required for his work, said MOH.
Ler, who resigned in January 2014, is believed to have mishandled the
information and is suspected of not having complied with the policies
and guidelines on the handling of such confidential information.
In May 2016, MOH lodged a police report after receiving information that
Brochez was in possession of confidential information that appeared to
be from the HIV Registry.
Police searched the couple's properties and relevant material was seized
as well.
In May 2018, after Brochez had been deported from Singapore, MOH
received information that he still had part of the records. While the
information did not appear to have been made public, MOH lodged a police
report and contacted the affected individuals to inform them.
On Jan 22 this year, MOH was notified by the police that Brochez may
still have more information from the HIV Registry, and had leaked it online.
*HOW DID BROCHEZ ENTER SINGAPORE? *Ler helped Brochez, who was HIV-positive, dupe the Ministry of Manpower
(MOM) into issuing the American an employment pass.
On two separate occasions, Ler gave a sample of his own blood to be
submitted so that Brochez could hide his HIV status.
The first instance was in March 2008 for a compulsory medical test
required by the MOM for issuing the employment pass.
Brochez, who suspected he was HIV-positive, knew that he would not be
granted an employment pass if MOM knew his medical status, court
documents showed.
Ler suggested submitting his blood in Brochez's name to MOM in order to
yield a negative result.
On the morning of Mar 13, Ler drew his own blood at home and stored it
in a test tube.
Ler, who was a locum general practitioner at My Family Clinic at
Commonwealth that day, brought the test tube to work with him.
When Brochez visited the clinic that evening for a blood test, Ler
labelled the test tube with Brochez's particulars and submitted it for
testing.
As a result, the test came back negative and MOM issued an employment
pass to Brochez.
In October 2013, MOM received information that Brochez was HIV positive
and directed him to cancel the personalised employment pass he had
obtained in Feb 2011.
Brochez responded by saying that he had been falsely accused and told
MOM he would supply "proof of being free of HIV".
To prevent the pass from being cancelled, the couple repeated the ruse
they had used in 2008 at the clinic Ler was working at at that time.
As a result, MOM allowed him to retain his pass.
According to court documents, Brochez said he and Ler were in love and
the only way for them to be together was to commit the offences due to
the “discriminatory” laws.
He also claimed that he posed no public health risk as he had been
taking antivirals since 2008.
*WHAT ELSE DID HE FAKE? *When police raided Brochez's residence, they seized several certificates
purportedly issued to him, said court documents.
This included a linguistics degree from Vanderbilt University, a
Master’s degree in developmental and child psychology as well as a
doctorate in psychology and education from the University of Paris. A
professional teaching certificate was also seized.
Investigations revealed that all the certificates were forged and that
Brochez neither attended the institutions nor obtained the qualifications.
He had used the certificates to apply for jobs with educational
institutions in Singapore.
Authorities also found a Bahamian passport with the name Malatesta da
Farrera-Brochez in a safe.
Though the passport bore the same birth date and photograph of Brochez
as shown in his US passport, police confirmed that it was a fake.
During his work in Singapore, Brochez received multiple awards and
recognition for teaching excellence. He also published articles in
scientific journals and books on child psychology.
Brochez has also represented Singapore at international conferences for
academia and research.
In a 2010 interview with a local newspaper, Brochez claimed that he was
enrolled in Princeton University at the age of 13. However, he
transferred to Vanderbilt University in his first year because he felt
the latter offered better linguistic courses.
In the interview, Brochez said he could converse in eight
languages, including Hebrew and Spanish, saying that he was "a gifted
child".
Brochez claimed he was a successful "laboratory rat" of his mother, a Dr
Theresa King, who was purportedly a renowned professor of child and
adolescent psychology in the UK.
"My mother is a really big influence in my life. I would not have made
it without all her help and guidance," he had said in the interview.
However, according to British daily The Independent, there was no
psychologist with such qualifications under the name given by Brochez.
When The Independent contacted a UK-registered psychologist who
qualified under the name given by Brochez, the news site was told that
Brochez was not her son, and that she did not specialise in any of the
relevant areas.
Source:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hiv-positive-records-leaked-online-singapore-mikhy-brochez-11175718
