Police in Idaho in the United States have arrested a man suspected of trying to peddle his HIV-infected blood to a blood bank when he knew he was carrying the deadly virus, officers said Tuesday.
Officers in Boise, the capital of the largely agricultural western state, arrested 22-year-old Kyle Rich for knowingly attempting to transfer bodily fluids infected with human immunodeficiency virus.
”The crime was uncovered by required testing done by the blood bank,” Boise police said in a statement.
”After investigating, detectives found the man did indeed know he was HIV positive before giving blood.
”Boise police detectives hope it’s reassuring to citizens to know that the blood supply is required to be tested and contaminated blood, as in this case, is found and removed,” the statement added.
Idaho law punishes the crime of attempting to deliberately expose people to HIV/Aids with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and/or a fine of $5 000. – Sapa-AFP