--- description: 212 HIV cases were found in the community where he practiced title: Cambodia: Unlicensed Medic Charged With Murder for Spreading HIV image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01f260af3882cee5/698779452dce019c8a9dce2e/cambodia-hiv-doctor.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Infectious Disease](/tag/infectious-disease/) ## Infectious Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Unlicensed Cambodian Medic Charged With Murder After Allegedly Spreading HIV  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 10, 2015 8:45 PM CUT  Cambodian officials prepare to inspect the perimeter of a nurse house after a local unlicensed doctor was charged with spreading HIV, in Roka commune in Battambang province, Cambodia, on Dec. 17, 2014. Cambodian officials prepare to inspect the perimeter of a nurse house after a local unlicensed doctor was charged with spreading HIV, in Roka commune in Battambang province, Cambodia, on Dec. 17, 2014.EPA  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 10, 2015 8:45 PM CUT An unlicensed medic is being charged with murder after Cambodian medical authorities found 212 cases of HIV in the district where he had been treating patients, allegedly with contaminated equipment. Yem Chrin treated poor patients and was believed to have healing powers, Reuters [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/10/us-cambodia-hiv-idUSKBN0KJ0DS20150110?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews "undefined"). However, he did not have a medical license and was allegedly delivering injections and blood transfusions using unclean equipment. Authorities tested 1,940 people in the northwestern province where Yem Chrin worked, and 212 tested positive for HIV. Some children as young as 6 years old tested positive for the virus, according to[ _al-Jazeera_. ](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/12/doctor-charged-cambodia-hiv-outbreak-201412235369468220.html "undefined") Yem Chrin allegedly [told police](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/12/doctor-charged-cambodia-hiv-outbreak-201412235369468220.html "undefined") that he sometimes used the same syringe on two or three patients before disposing of it. The World Health Organization and UNAIDS found that “the percentage of people that reported receiving an injection or intravenous infusion as part of their health treatment was significantly higher among the people who tested positive for HIV than the people who were HIV negative,” in the area in which Yem Chrin treated patients, Reuters reports. The development is a setback in Cambodia’s largely successful efforts to eradicate the virus since it first spread through the country in the 1990s. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/10/us-cambodia-hiv-idUSKBN0KJ0DS20150110?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3662719/cambodia-hiv-aids-doctor-murder/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3662719/cambodia-hiv-aids-doctor-murder/"},"headline":"Unlicensed Cambodian Medic Charged With Murder After Allegedly Spreading HIV","datePublished":"2015-01-10T20:45:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:27:50.289Z","description":"212 HIV cases were found in the community where he practiced","url":"https://time.com/3662719/cambodia-hiv-aids-doctor-murder/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","medicine","Crime","Disease","Cambodia","HIV","Aids","WHO","World Health Organization","infectious diseases"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01f260af3882cee5/698779452dce019c8a9dce2e/cambodia-hiv-doctor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01f260af3882cee5/698779452dce019c8a9dce2e/cambodia-hiv-doctor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HIV found in 100 villagers in Cambodia, nurse charged","caption":"HIV found in 100 villagers in Cambodia, nurse charged","creditText":"EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3662719/cambodia-hiv-aids-doctor-murder/","name":"Unlicensed Cambodian Medic Charged With Murder After Allegedly Spreading HIV"}}]}] ```