Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Simon Mol dies in hospital

Simon Mol, the Cameroonian charged with intentionally infecting several Polish women with HIV, died in a hospital, Saturday night.

Last week Mol’s trial was suspended due to his ill health after being released from detention in September and transported to one of Warsaw’s hospitals. Medical staff described his condition, linked to his HIV infection, as “critical”. Reputedly M. refused to undergo medical treatment.

The public prosecutor’s office in Poland established that the Cameroonian infected over 40 women with HIV. He himself claimed that he was not aware of his condition.

He was arrested in January 2007. The trial, which began in July this year involved a total of 13 charges levelled against him – 11 in connection with intentionally infecting women with HIV, one of exposing a women to the disease, and one of possessing cold weapon without a permit. He was facing 10 years in prison.

The Cameroonian first arrived in Poland in 1999. He claimed to be a political refugee and that he was persecuted in Cameroon for publishing an article on a corruption scandal in the government. However, Polish media reported later on that his life history was to a great extent a fabricatio
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