New York Times- January 29, 2019

Singapore Says an American Leaked Records of 14,200 H.I.V. Patients 

This article written by Mike Ives discusses the most recent situation of over 14,000 H.I.V. patients’ medical records and personal information being disclosed. These people included citizens of Singapore, along with foreigners as well. The Health Ministry responded to this saying, “We are sorry for the anxiety and distress caused by this incident.” The person who’s hands the information is now in is an American citizen who lived in Singapore, put in jail and then deported; his name is Mikhy K. Ferrera Brochez. Soon after Brochez got to Singapore, he was diagnosed with H.I.V. His partner, Ler Teck Siang, was allegedly a doctor in Singapore and also the head of the ministry’s National Public Health Unit, so he could have given Brochez access to the disclosed information. People impacted by the information breech were notified and the police are working “with relevant parties to disable access to the information.” This is the second incident of compromised medical information, the first happened in July, affecting 1.5 million people.

After reading this story, I would be the public relations professional for the Health Ministry in Singapore. The statement that was released with this story did not give much information that should have been provided. They should have tried to reassure the citizens and foreigners affected to make them feel like they are working to improve the security so these things don’t continue to happen. Since this is the second incident since only July, I’m sure especially citizens of Singapore are starting to lose their trust in their doctors and hospitals. It is of course an unfortunate situation, but the Health Ministry should be doing everything they can do decrease the chances of this happening for a third time. They could ease the minds of people affected by adding a few more statements when addressing the situation.