THINNED OUT: The Geylang traffic as seen from the overhead bridge betweeen Lorong 16 and 21.
Contacted by The New Paper on Sunday, the man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Chen, claimed his cousin had no idea his former girlfriend had been prostituting herself.
He said the couple met at a KTV lounge near Shenton Way last November, where she worked as a hostess.
'We could see that he was serious about their relationship. It was his first relationship in nine years. Before that, he'd been going out with a Singaporean girl,' Mr Chen said.
'The China girl looked quite demure and he trusted her when she told him he was her only man.
'At first, they used condoms, but after a while he trusted her and they had unprotected sex.'
According to Mr Chen, his cousin started quarrelling with his girlfriend about two months ago. And she left him.
He looked pale and complained about not being able to control his bowels. His gums were also bleeding.
After a check-up in Johor Baru, his worst fears were confirmed. He was HIV-positive.
Said Mr Chen in Mandarin: 'He used to be a happy-go-lucky kind of guy.
'But about two months ago, when I saw him looking glum, I kept asking him why. At first he wouldn't talk.
3 DAYS AGO --TNP PICTURES: NG XI JIE, MOHD ISHAK
'Then he finally told his best friend and I that she had given him Aids.'
Mr Chen said he and the friend tried to dissuade his cousin from spreading HIV, but he later resigned from his job and has been uncontactable since.
Spreading HIV to others is a crime. According to the law, people who have sex despite knowing that they are HIV-positive can be fined up to $10,000, or jailed for up to two years, or both.
