IGNORING the inevitable giggles, eight students from the Singapore Management University handed out 500 condoms to passers-by outside popular youth hangout Cathay Cineleisure last Sunday.

Calling themselves Team Aid, the students wanted to raise awareness about Aids and the importance of safe sex in Aids prevention, especially among youth.

Health Ministry statistics show a steady rise in Singaporeans newly diagnosed with HIV over the last three years - 357 in 2006, a further 423 in 2007 and 456 last year. As of the end of last year, almost 4,000 Singaporeans were HIV positive.

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