CASE OF STRIPPER WItH HIV MOVES FORWARD

According to a report from the Toronto Star, the saga of the man who was infected with HIV by a Thai stripper he sponsored and married continues. She has already been convicted of criminal negligence and her appeal to remain in Canada is pending at the IAD for a decision. If found responsible, the Federal government could, and arguably should, change its guidelines regarding immigration medical examinations and the admission of individuals with serious contagious diseases. We will no doubt hear more about this case in the future.






Federal government fails to have AIDs suit dismissed


March 11, 2010
Peter Small


The federal government has failed to quash a multi-million dollar lawsuit alleging it was negligent for failing to conduct proper medical screening to protect a man from contracting HIV from his AIDS-infected immigrant wife.
But in a decision released Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Code did dismiss the man’s claims against the city of Toronto and the province of Ontario.
Percy Whiteman, 35, sued all three levels of government and his estranged wife, Suwalee Iamkhong, 41 — a former prostitute in Asia and later a stripper at the Toronto’s Zanzibar Tavern — for $33 million dollars.
He argues that a sub-standard medical screening failed to detect the Thai woman’s AIDs.
But the judge held that Ontario and Toronto are not liable for any alleged defects in the work of the doctor who examined her in 1999 as part of the immigration process. She was granted landed immigrant status in 2001.
He did rule, however, that the federal government could, arguably, be held responsible. The doctor was registered with Immigration Canada to conduct such examinations.
All three levels of government asserted that they had no private law “duty of care” toward Whiteman.
Instead they had only a broad public duty to their citizens, they argued.
But the judge noted that Whiteman entered into an agreement with immigration officials to sponsor Iamkhong for 10 years, a factor that made his relationship with the federal government arguably “personal, close and direct.”
“There is a close causal connection between the alleged negligence of the immigration officials and the harm to the plaintiff; the public would reasonably expect immigration officials to protect the public from the spread of catastrophic illnesses like HIV and AIDS by conducting medical test of immigrants,” Code wrote.
Maurice Benzaquen, Whiteman’s lawyer, called it a very positive finding.
“It’s a very big day for Percy,” Benzaquen said.
“He feels vindicated that the government can’t make decisions and fail to do tests that could have saved him a life of medication and uncertainty.”
Whiteman alleges Iamkhong knowingly infected him with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, after they married in 1997. She entered Canada in 1995 on a work permit to perform as a stripper. She has maintained she did not know she was HIV-positive.
In 2007, Iamkhong was convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and aggravated assault against Whiteman for having unprotected sex while she knew she was HIV-positive. She was sentenced to two years in jail and, under immigration laws, had no right to appeal a deportation order.
The Ontario Court of Appeal later reduced the sentence by one day, giving Iamkhong a chance to appeal the deportation order, which she did.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has reserved its decision on her deportation appeal.