First Papua New Guinea Man Ever Convicted for AIDS Abuse

The Tabubil District court on Friday fined a man 2,000 kina (US $706) after he pled guilty to unlawfully stigmatizing a girl for taking an HIV test. In what is understood to be the first such conviction, magistrate Patrick Monouluk noted Rimux Tutupsel publicly shamed the girl for doing the "honorable thing." "Whether or not she was found to be positive or negative is a matter entirely within the confidence of her and those at the hospital," said Monouluk. Tutupsel and the girl had dated for three months. He was arrested outside Tabubil Hospital when he began shouting that the girl was sick with AIDS. Ann Clark, general manager of the PNG Business Coalition Against HIV and AIDS, greeted the ruling as "fantastic news." "More people need to get tested for AIDS and this shows real progress in our education efforts to reduce stigma," she said.

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