HER husband was diagnosed with Aids.

But he allegedly not only failed to tell her, he continued having sex with her.

Aida (not her real name), 33, later tested HIV-positive.

Her husband, a technician, died of Aids in June 2008. He was 48.

As she grew too weak to work, she began worrying about how she was going to pay the $420 she needed for her medicines every month. She has no savings.

Fortunately, a medical social worker managed to get Aida financial assistance to cover her bills.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) also announced yesterday that from next month, it will extend Medifund assistance to needy Singaporeans who require HIV treatment, including medication.

Meanwhile, Aida has filed papers in the High Court to sue her late husband’s estate for causing her “bodily harm” by giving her HIV.

Aida claims her husband breached his duty of care to her by failing to warn her that he had been diagnosed with HIV and abstaining from sex with her, though he knew that by doing so, he would likely cause her serious bodily harm.

She is claiming for loss of earnings and damages, including money to take care of her 14-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, both from previous relationships.

We are not using the real name of the parties as both are HIV patients.

The New Paper spoke to Aida in her late husband’s four-room HDB flat, where a wheelchair sat quietly against the wall of the dark living room.

She said: “If I’m alone, or if the children are big and can work, I don’t care.

“But if anything happens to me, my kids how? They are still small, they still have a long way to go.”

Her late husband’s eldest brother, the administrator of the estate, is named as the defendant in the lawsuit.

Aida married her husband in June 2006. They did not have children together.

Generally, under Muslim inheritance law, if a man dies with no surviving children or grandchildren, his widow receives 25 per cent of his estate.

Stepchildren are not beneficiaries under the Muslim inheritance law.

The remainder of the estate is distributed among the husband’s parents, siblings and other relatives.

The court papers filed in the High Court do not state how much the husband’s estate is worth.

Aida alleged in the papers that her husband was diagnosed with advanced HIV in December 2007 and referred to the Infectious Diseases Service of MOH.

His condition worsened, and he developed Aids and rectal adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer.

Aida claimed that for months, he did not reveal his condition to her and that she continued to have sex with him between December 2007 and February 2008.

When she found out he had Aids, she was shocked and scared. After she was tested, she told The New Paper, she didn’t dare to collect her results for weeks and the hospital kept calling her.

She was diagnosed in March 2008 and claimed she continued to live with him.

Her husband died soon after, in June 2008.

In her suit, Aida says it was her husband who gave her HIV, as during the “relevant period”, she did not have sex with anyone else and was never in a situation where she could have contracted HIV.

She said that if she had known her husband had Aids or HIV, she would not have had sex with him.

She also claims his conduct broke the law – it is an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act for HIV-infected persons not to inform their sex partners of their HIV status before sex.

Aida claims that as a result, she suffered both mental and physical harm, loss and damage.

She said her condition has continued to deteriorate and she is no longer able to work.

She is claiming for loss of earnings at $600 a month from November 2008 onwards, which was when she quit her part-time job at a convenience store.

She is also asking for general damages to provide for her children, who are dependent on her, until they are old enough to earn and look after themselves.

She is leaving it up to the High Court to decide on the amount of damages and costs if she wins the case.

Generally in Singapore, a civil case is held in the High Court if the value of the claim is above $250,000.

When The New Paper met the husband’s siblings, his eldest brother, who’s in his 50s, said he had not yet been served the writ.

This article was first published in The New Paper.