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Police in Switzerland are chasing after a former music teacher and acupunturist who has reportedly transmitted HIV to some of his music students through needles used for the ancient alternative healing practice. The man apparently used a number of pretenses to prick over a dozen patients with infected needles, most of them his former students.

The man, who has gone unnamed in international reports, has been on trial since March 6 for his alleged crimes. He also missed two hearings earlier this month, although his attorney provided a medical certificate arguing that the man was under such extreme fatigue that he was unable to appear in court. However, the jury found that the produced certificate was a fake.

International scientists argue that it would be impossible for him to spread the infection with the thin needles used in acupuncture, and instead say that he likely used a syringe for the vicious attacks. Police encountered a standoff with the man when they ultimately arrested him recently. The originally went to his home in Bern, Switzerland near Southern France to order him to appear in court, but he refused to cooperate, locked himself in his home and brandished a gun. The man faces 15 years in prison for his crimes.

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