Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said late Saturday there have been suggestions that couples should be tested for HIV as part of marriage planning, but public feedback would be sought before any decision is taken.

"Should we do it? I don't know," Khaw said at the sidelines of a community event.

"But if you ask me as a parent, I think there is no harm. I have three girls and you do not know what their boyfriends will be like," he said.

Last week, the government announced pregnant women will soon be automatically tested for HIV as part of intensified measures to fight a rise in infections.

The latest figures from the health ministry showed the number of new infections hit a record high with 257 cases reported in the first 10 months of the year.

Some 242 new cases were reported for all of 2003. Most of the new HIV infections involved heterosexual men who contracted the virus through casual sex or sex with prostitutes.

Health officials fear that new cases will surpass 300 this year, from just two recorded in 1985, 111 in 1995 and 226 in 2000.

Singapore, with a population of 3.4 million citizens and permanent residents plus one million foreign workers and their families, has recorded a total of 2,332 HIV infections to date, of whom 874 have died, 564 have full-blown AIDS and 894 show no symptoms.

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