A Zimbabwean refugee was jailed for two months last week after pleading guilty to assaulting a police officer, drink-driving and driving with no licence or insurance. That in itself is nothing remarkable.
What is remarkble, however, is the hysteria surrounding his arrest and sentencing by the police and the media.
His real 'crime'?
Being an 'asylum seeker' with 'suspected' HIV and/or hepatitis B. It seems that just being from Africa is enough to be 'suspected' of having HIV, and for the police and media to focus on the (negligable) risk of HIV transmission via a bite.
Every headline – and there were many in the UK last week – included the word 'HIV' even though the man denies being HIV-positive. At least, they didn't subject him to a mandatory HIV test (as was proposed by police, but ultimately rejected, in Scotland a couple of years ago).
Although there have been several case reports of HIV transmission via a bite, these are reassuringly extremely rare and would require fresh blood in the saliva of the HIV-positive person as well as an extremely high viral load – usually seen during primary infection or extremely advanced HIV disease.
It seems to me that to many uninformed members of society being African (and gay) is the 21st equivalent of being a witch - damned either way.
This is what the police had to say about the incident.
Chief Inspector Jim McAll, of Northumbria Police’s Gateshead Area Command said: “For an assault of this nature, which has left two officers with an uncertain few months, a custodial sentence was totally appropriate.“This sends out the right message to offenders that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated by the courts.
“Once again this has highlighted the dangers Northumbria officers, who are some of the best trained in the country, can face in their day-to-day working lives.”
Below is the story from the UK's notorious best-selling tabloid, The Sun, which 'broke' the story (complete with unflattering photo, which I have not reproduced) and which was reprinted in local and other national newspapers the following day.
'HIV man' jailed for biting cop
AN asylum seeker believed to have HIV was jailed for two months today for biting a police officer.
Zimbabwean Mlungisi Moyo assaulted the officer in a patrol car after he was arrested in Gateshead on suspicion of driving whilst unfit.
PC John Dougal of Northumbria Police suffered a puncture to the side of his head, a cut to his thumb and grazing to his left shin during the incident in the early hours of April 1.
PC Derek Kendal, who was called to assist at the scene, was also cut on the hand.
Prosecuting David Mayhew said the defendant was understood to have both hepatitis B and HIV, so the officers had to undergo tests and injections for the viruses.
They must wait for three months after the incident to know if they have been infected.
Mr Mayhew told Gateshead Magistrates’ Court that the assault led to a “short wrestle” in the police car.
“The defendant is said to have lunged forward between the two front seats. The officer felt grabbing and pushing at the side of his neck.”
He said the officer braked hard as the defendant tried to grab the steering wheel and pull the handbrake.
“He felt Mr Moyo’s head against his and thought he was trying to bite him at that point.”
The 31-year-old defendant, who in 2007 was disqualified from driving for three years, admitted assaulting a police officer, drink-driving and driving with no licence or insurance at a previous hearing.
But Joanne Hutchinson, defending Moyo, said he denied lunging forward and instead fell forward when the car braked sharply.
But she added: “He accepts the officer has injuries as a result of what occurred. He can’t really explain why they occurred but he accepts responsibility for them.”
She said Moyo denied being HIV positive.
He was handed three concurrent sentences of two months’ imprisonment and a further three-year driving disqualification.
Magistrates said the offences were so serious that only custody was appropriate.
Moyo, of [name of street], Halifax, West Yorkshire, and previously of Gateshead is married with a baby daughter. He worked as a taxi driver in Zimbabwe before moving to the UK in 2002.
Chief Inspector Jim McAll, of Northumbria Police’s Gateshead Area Command said: “For an assault of this nature, which has left two officers with an uncertain few months, a custodial sentence was totally appropriate.
“This sends out the right message to offenders that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated by the courts.
“Once again this has highlighted the dangers Northumbria officers, who are some of the best trained in the country, can face in their day-to-day working lives.”
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