Section 377A (Singapore)

Last updated

Section 377A was a Singaporean law that criminalised sex between consenting adult males. It was introduced under British colonial rule in 1938 when it was added to the Penal Code by the colonial government. It remained a part of the Singapore body of law after the Penal Code review of 2007 which removed most of the other provisions in Section 377. It was subsequently repealed in its entirety in 2023.

Contents

Prior to the repeal, the law, while retained de jure in the Penal Code, had been for many years de facto unenforced – there had been no convictions for sex between consenting male adults in decades. [1] While a small number of people were convicted under the section for private consensual acts between adults from 1988 until 2007, enforcement effectively ceased outright following the Penal Code review, despite the retention of section 377A from 2007 to 2022. [2] [3] : 42–47 

On 28 February 2022, the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore reaffirmed that 377A could not be used to prosecute men for having gay sex. [1] That same year, an Ipsos survey found that 44% of Singapore residents supported retaining the law, with 20% opposing it and the remaining 36% being ambivalent. [4] On 21 August 2022, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced during the annual National Day Rally that the government intends to repeal Section 377A, effectively ending criminalisation both de facto and de jure. [5] [6] On 29 November 2022, the Parliament of Singapore passed a bill to repeal Section 377A. [7] The bill was assented by President Halimah Yacob on 27 December 2022 and gazetted on 3 January 2023, and Section 377A was struck off the books. [8]

Background

The Indian Penal Code

Lord Thomas Macaulay, who chaired the commission that introduced laws such as 377A. Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay by John Partridge.jpg
Lord Thomas Macaulay, who chaired the commission that introduced laws such as 377A.

The British Parliament formed the Indian Law Commission in 1833. [3] : 10–11  Lord Thomas Macaulay was appointed to chair the commission. The 1837 draft of the Indian Penal Code was largely his work. It took 23 years for his work to be reviewed by the commission and the Supreme Court judges in Mumbai, Calcutta, and Madras. The code was adopted in 1860 and took effect 1 January 1862. [3] : 11 

Macaulay's draft did not reflect existing Indian (or other Asian cultures) laws or customs. It was largely a rewrite of the British Royal Commission's 1843 draft code. [3] : 11  The adopted draft included a Section 377 (quoted above), but there were many ambiguities in the section, including the question of what had to penetrate what. These in turn let future jurists redefine what these provisions actually punished. [9] : 18  Under Buddhist and Hindu law in most of Asia, consensual intercourse between members of the same sex was never an offence. In the new Indian Penal Code, however, Section 377 criminalised "carnal intercourse against the order of nature", derived from words attributed to Sir Edward Coke in the seventeenth century. [9] : 14–15 

Section 377A "(Outrages on decency" was added to the sub-title "Unnatural offences" in the Straits Settlements in 1938. [9] : 20  Both sections were absorbed unchanged into the Singapore Penal Code when the latter was passed by Singapore's Legislative Council on 28 January 1955.

Original Section 377

Unnatural sex or sodomy was not defined in the Indian Penal Code drafted by the British. Legal records show that Indian legislators in the 19th and early 20th centuries interpreted "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" between individuals (of all sexes – the law being non-gender specific with its use of the word "whoever") to include anal sex, bestiality and, often after much courtroom deliberation, oral sex as well, i.e. any form of sexual penetration which did not have the potential for procreation.

Therefore, both heterosexual and homosexual oral and anal sex were criminal offences. In this particular positive sense, Section 377 did not discriminate against homosexuals, although the permission of vaginal penetration left homosexuals exclusively prohibited from performing penetrative sex. The prohibition against oral sex was at odds with British sodomy law, whose case law did not cover oral penetration. [10] Section 377, however, in early cases tried in India mainly involved forced fellatio with unwilling male children and one unusual case of sexual intercourse with the nostril of a buffalo.

In the Singaporean context, the Court of Appeal eventually held that heterosexual fellatio was exempted if indulged in as foreplay which eventually leads to coitus: [11] This rationale explicitly confirmed that oral or anal penetration as a substitute for vaginal-penile penetration was permitted, whereas oral stimulation - including penetration of the oral cavity - could be practised as an introduction (or even prerequisite) to heterosexual sexual penetration, and hence outside the scope of the law.

[I]t is a fact of life, in humans as well as in animals, that before the act of copulation takes place there is foreplay to stimulate the sex urge. Kissing is the most common although there are several others...

Of course, this form of contrectation [fellatio or cunnilingus] may not recommend itself to everyone for stimulating the sex urge. Even a man and a woman engaged in consensual sexual intercourse may draw the line at fellatio or cunnilingus. But the fact remains that it is practised by some. We note...that [there is] some statistical evidence...of these forms of oral sex being practised in Singapore. We cannot shut our minds to it.

[W]hen couples engaged in consensual sexual intercourse willingly indulge in fellatio and cunnilingus as a stimulant to their respective sexual urges, neither act can be considered to be against the order of nature and punishable under s 377 of the Penal Code. In every other instance the act of fellatio between a man and a woman will be carnal intercourse against the order of nature and punishable under s 377.

The Singaporean margin note of the original Section 377 further explained that mere penetration of the penis into the anus or mouth even without orgasm would constitute the offence. The law applied regardless of the act being consensual between both parties and done in private.

Section 377 was repealed in the Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2007 [12] and replaced with a new Section 377 criminalising sex with dead bodies ("Sexual penetration of a corpse"), which was substituted in its place. [13]

Section 377A

Section 377A was introduced into the Singapore Penal Code in 1938 to criminalise all other non-penetrative sexual acts. It is descended from the Labouchere Amendment. [14] [ unreliable source? ]

In the local context, "gross indecency" is a broad term which, from a review of past cases locally, has been applied to mutual masturbation, genital contact, or even lewd behaviour without direct physical contact. As with the former Section 377, performing such acts in private does not constitute a defence. The law does not criminalise sex between females, only between males. [15]

Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years. [16]

— Outrages on decency, Section 377A, Singapore Penal Code

Its original mother statute, Section 377 (since repealed), criminalised any sexual act that went "against the order of nature": [17]

Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animals, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation. Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.

— Singapore Penal Code, Section 377

Public opinion

In 2018, an Ipsos survey found that 55% of Singapore residents supported retaining Section 377A. [18] In 2022, Ipsos made another survey, noting that this figure had dropped to 44%, amid changing attitudes towards same-sex relationships. [4]

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was quoted in The Straits Times of 18 September 2007 saying that public feedback on the issue had been "emotional, divided and strongly expressed", with a majority of people calling for Section 377A to be retained. [19] The MHA also said that it recognised that "we are generally a conservative society and that we should let the situation evolve".

On 3 October 2007, an online appeal was launched via the "Repeal 377A" website [20] to gather signatories for an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for the repeal of Section 377A. In response, a counter-petition on the website "Keep 377A" [21] was set up to give citizens a channel to voice support for the Government's retention of the law. By 1:30 p.m. on 20 October, Keep377A had overtaken Repeal377A by 7,068 to 7,058 signatories. [22] As online petitions, both websites suffered the same doubts regarding the credibility of the numbers of their signatories. There was no mention of whether technical measures were taken to ensure that multiple-voting by the same person was prevented.

Shortly after the Penal Code review report was released on 9 September 2018, [23] a movement known as Ready4Repeal launched a petition to campaign for Section 377A to be repealed, even though MHA and Ministry of Law said there were no plans to do so. The petition attracted 44,650 signatures. Ready4Repeal also held a town hall meeting on 30 September 2018, which over 800 people attended. In contrast, a petition calling for Section 377A to be kept attracted more than 109,000 signatures after it closed on 24 September 2018. [24]

Constitutional challenges

Section 377A was repeatedly challenged before the courts of Singapore as being unconstitutional. All challenges were chiefly based on Article 12 of the Constitution of Singapore, which guarantees all persons equality before the law, and Article 9 of the Constitution of Singapore, which guarantees all persons the right to life and the right to personal liberty.

Tan Eng Hong v. Attorney-General

On 24 September 2010, criminal lawyer M. Ravi filed an application in the High Court to challenge the constitutionality of Section 377A on behalf of his client Tan Eng Hong, who was charged for allegedly having oral sex with another consenting adult male in a locked cubicle of a public toilet. [25]

On 19 March 2011, Tan's case was thrown out of court by High Court justice Lai Siu Chiu, citing "a lack of a real controversy" for the court to deal with. [26] This is important, as according to the Rules of Court (Cap. 322 § 80,O 18 r. 19, 1996 Rev. Ed.), only cases which are not "frivolous" may be argued. However, on 21 August 2012, the Court of Appeal reversed Lai's decision, ruling that 377A did "affect the lives of a not insignificant portion of [Singaporeans] in a very real and intimate way" and that the case would proceed once again in the High Court. [27]

Tan's case was finally heard on 6 March 2013, [28] and decided against him by justice Quentin Loh on 2 October 2013. [29] In his ruling, Loh wrote that the issue was one of "morality and societal values" and if it were to be changed, it would have to be by Singapore's Parliament. Tan appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeal, and his case was joined at his request as an intervening party with Lim Meng Suang and another v. Attorney-General (below), which was also pending before the Court of Appeal, on 11 October 2013. [30]

Lim Meng Suang and another v. Attorney-General

After Tan's successful appeal to be heard by the court, a separate constitutional challenge was filed on 30 November 2012 on behalf of Lim Meng Suan and Kenneth Chee Mun-leon, a gay couple of fifteen years, by attorney Peter Low. [31] [32] The case was heard in camera on 14 February 2013, [33] and decided against them by justice Quentin Loh on 9 April 2013, for much the same reasons as his decision against Tan (above). [34] Lim and Chee appealed to the Court of Appeal on 30 April 2013. [35] [36] In July 2013, after a successful crowdfunding campaign, they hired two highly esteemed lawyers: Deborah Barker, Senior Counsel at KhattarWong LLP, and British lawyer, Debevoise & Plimpton partner and former Attorney General for England and Wales Lord Peter Henry Goldsmith. [37] Goldsmith had agreed to take the case without pay, [38] but that September was disallowed from arguing the case before the court by Justice V. K. Rajah, as he believed that the legal issues were arguable by domestic lawyers, which is preferred by Singapore law. [39]

On 29 October 2014, more than four years after the original challenge by Tan, the Court of Appeal, the highest court in Singapore, rejected Lim and Chee's challenge, finally ending the case. [40] [41] The court held that 377A was consistent with Article 9 as it is meant to protect against unlawful imprisonment, and that it was consistent with Article 12 as it only mentions religion, race and place of birth—not gender, sexual orientation, or sex. [40] As in all judgments before, the court held that any legal remedy would have to come about through an Act of Parliament. [40]

Compared to news of LGBT rights in other nations such as Russia and the United States, the case and final appeal received little attention outside Singapore. [42] The Huffington Post featured Chee and Lim's story prominently under the headline "How One of the World's Richest Countries Is Limiting Basic Human Rights" [43] and Bloomberg also published an article on the ruling. [41]

Ong Ming Johnson v. Attorney-General and other matters

On 29 August 2018, Professor Ho Kwon Ping in his talk questioned the need for Section 377A in Singapore. [44] After India's Supreme Court decriminalised sex between two people of the same sex, with Professor Tommy Koh encouraging a constitutional challenge of Section 377A and chief of Singapore government communications Mr Janadas Devan hoping that Section 377A would go, [45] several constitutional challenges have been brought to the Supreme Court.

The first challenge after India's ruling was filed on 10 September 2018 by Johnson Ong, known by stage name DJ Big Kid, and was based on Article 9 of the Constitution. [46] The second challenge was filed by LGBT rights activist Choong Chee Hong in November 2018 and argues that Section 377A is inconsistent with Articles 9, 12 and 14 of the Constitution. [47] A third was filed by retired general practitioner Tan Seng Kee on 20 September 2019, also based on Articles 9, 12 and 14 of the Constitution. In addition, he argued that although the Government will not enforce the law on acts done in private, the Public Prosecutor can decide whether to prosecute someone under Section 377A, which would be inconsistent with Section 14 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires the police to "unconditionally investigate all complaints of suspected arrestable offences". [48]

On 30 March 2020, justice See Kee Oon consolidated the three challenges into one case and ruled against them, arguing that the law was intended to safeguard morals and prosecute all forms of indecency between men whether in public or private, and not just male prostitution when the law was made in 1938. He also stated that there's no strong scientific evidence that a person's sexual orientation is unchangeable, and once again ruled that Parliament is the proper venue for repeal. [49] [50] Appeals were filed on 31 March 2020. [51]

On 28 February 2022, it was ruled by the Court of Appeal that, because the law is not enforced, the constitutional challenges against it had failed. [1] [52]

Repeal of Section 377A

On 21 August 2022, Prime Minister Lee announced during his 2022 National Day Rally speech that Section 377A would be repealed by the government. Lee stated that "I believe this is the right thing to do and something that most Singaporeans will now accept. This will bring the law into line with current social norms and, I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans." Laws to repeal 377A were introduced on 20 October, with a two-day debate that started on 28 November. [5] [6]

Parliamentary vote

On 29 November 2022, the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, which repealed Section 377A, passed in Parliament following a 10-hour debate that had begun the day prior. A total of 96 MPs voted on the topic of repeal, with all 83 People's Action Party (PAP) MPs and three WP's MPs voting in favour, while two other WP's MPs, Gerald Giam and Dennis Tan, as well as nominated MP Hoon Hian Teck, voted against. [7] All members of the ruling party PAP voted according to the party's position as the party whip was not lifted, while WP lifted its party whip. [53]

With a vote of 85 to 2, a constitutional amendment to protect the definition of marriage from legal challenge was approved. Two Workers Party MPs, Sylvia Lim and He Ting Ru, abstained from the vote. [7] Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai, both Progress Singapore Party non-constituency Members of Parliament, declared that they would oppose the proposed amendment because they think a national referendum should be held to decide what constitutes marriage. [54]

The bill was assented by President Halimah Yacob on 27 December 2022 and gazetted on 3 January 2023, thus Section 377A was struck off the books. [55] [56]

Post-repeal plans

The Law and Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam, told Parliament in November 2022 that only a "small" number of people were convicted under the section for private consensual acts between adults from 1988 until 2007, when enforcement effectively ceased outright. [2] The Minister stated he would direct the Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA) to consider how these records could be purged. Days after the repeal bill passed, the MHA added that the records of 17 people convicted under Section 377A during that time period could have their criminal records expunged and rendered spent. [57]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Penal Code</span> Erstwhile Penal code of Republic of India

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the official criminal code in the Republic of India, inherited from British India after independence, until it was repealed and replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in December 2023, which came into effect on 1 July 2024. It was a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of the first Law Commission of India established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the chairmanship of Thomas Babington Macaulay. It came into force in the subcontinent during the British rule in 1862. However, it did not apply automatically in the Princely states, which had their own courts and legal systems until the 1940s. While in force, the IPC was amended several times and was supplemented by other criminal provisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT history in Singapore</span>

There is a long history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activity in Singapore. Male homosexuality was outlawed under British rule, despite being acknowledged among the local population. Following Japanese occupation during World War II and the country gaining independence, homosexuality and transvestism were visible as a street scene, and from the 1970s were catered for in some nightclubs. In that decade also, Singapore became a centre of gender-reassignment surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faith Community Baptist Church</span> Church in Singapore

Faith Community Baptist Church, or FCBC, is an independent charismatic megachurch in Singapore founded by Pastor Lawrence Khong in 1986.

LGBT art in Singapore, or queer art in Singapore, broadly refers to modern and contemporary visual art practices that draw on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender+ imagery and themes, addressing topics such as LGBT rights, history and culture in Singapore. Such queer art practices are often by Singaporean or Singapore-based visual artists and curators who identify as LGBT+ or queer.

Section 377 is a British colonial penal code that criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. As per a Supreme Court Judgement since 2018, the Indian Penal Code Section 377 is used to convict non-consensual sexual activities among homosexuals with a minimum of ten years’ imprisonment extended to life imprisonment. It has been used to criminalize third gender people, such as the apwint in Myanmar. In 2018, then British Prime Minister Theresa May acknowledged how the legacies of such British colonial anti-sodomy laws continue to persist today in the form of discrimination, violence, and even death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Singapore</span>

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Singapore have evolved over the decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal for both males and females; for men it was officially legalised in 2022 after being de facto decriminalised since 2007, and for women it was always legal. Prior to 2022, same-sex sexual activity between males was de jure illegal under the British colonial-era Section 377A of the Penal Code. The law had been de facto unenforced for decades. In February 2022, the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court reaffirmed that 377A cannot be used to prosecute men for having sex with other men, and that it is "unenforceable in its entirety". Transgender rights in the country are also progressive in the region, which included Singapore being the first country in Asia to legalise sex reassignment surgery in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Singapore</span>

Since Singapore's independence in 1965, the human rights of Singaporeans have been set out in the Constitution of Singapore and include rights found in subsequent amendments and referendums. These rights have evolved through Singapore's history as a part of the Straits Settlements, its years under Japanese occupation, its position as a separate self-governing crown colony, and its present day status as a sovereign island country and city-state.

Hri Kumar Nair is a Singaporean lawyer and former politician who has been serving as Judge of the High Court of Singapore since 2023. A former member of the People's Action Party, he was the Member of Parliament representing the Thomson division of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC between 2006 and 2015. He was also a former Deputy Attorney-General of Singapore between 2017 and 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penal Code (Singapore)</span> Criminal code of Singapore

The Penal Code 1871 sets out general principles of the criminal law of Singapore, as well as the elements and penalties of general criminal offences such as assault, criminal intimidation, mischief, grievous hurt, theft, extortion, sex crimes and cheating. The Penal Code does not define and list exhaustively all the criminal offences applicable in Singapore – a large number of these are created by other statutes such as the Arms Offences Act, Kidnapping Act, Misuse of Drugs Act and Vandalism Act.

Internet censorship in Singapore is carried out by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Internet services provided by the three major Internet service providers (ISPs) are subject to regulation by the MDA, which requires blocking of a symbolic number of websites containing "mass impact objectionable" material, including Playboy, YouPorn and Ashley Madison. The civil service, tertiary institutions and Institute of Technical Education has its own jurisdiction to block websites displaying pornography, information about drugs and online piracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thio Li-ann</span> Singaporean law professor

Thio Li-ann is a Singaporean law professor at the National University of Singapore. She was educated at the University of Oxford, Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge. In January 2007, she was appointed a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) in Singapore's 11th Parliament.

Section 213 of the Norwegian Penal Code was a provision of the Norwegian Penal Code that defined sexual intercourse between men as well as between people and animals as a crime. The section was repealed on April 21, 1972. It was, among other things, the sodomy law of Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodomy law</span> Laws criminalising certain sexual acts

A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood and defined by many courts and jurisdictions to include any or all forms of sexual acts that are illegal, illicit, unlawful, unnatural and immoral. Sodomy typically includes anal sex, oral sex, manual sex, and bestiality. In practice, sodomy laws have rarely been enforced to target against sexual activities between individuals of the opposite sex, and have mostly been used to target against sexual activities between individuals of the same sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink Dot SG</span> Annual LGBTQ+ event in Singapore

Pink Dot SG, known endonymously as Pink Dot, is a pride event that has occurred annually since 2009 in support of the LGBTQ community in Singapore. Attendees of Pink Dot events gather to form a "pink dot" to show support for inclusiveness, diversity and the freedom to love in the country. Pink Dot events typically include concert performances and booths sponsored by organizations that support the LGBT community and cause in addition to the event's name-brand formation.

Singapore does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. In 2022, the Parliament of Singapore passed a constitutional amendment giving itself "the power to define, regulate, protect and promote the institution of marriage".

<i>Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi</i> Indian LGBT Rights Case

Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi (2009) is a landmark Indian case decided by a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court, which held that treating consensual homosexual sex between adults as a crime is a violation of fundamental rights protected by India's Constitution. The verdict resulted in the decriminalization of homosexual acts involving consenting adults throughout India. This was later overturned by the Supreme Court of India in Suresh Kumar Koushal vs. Naz Foundation, in which a 2 judge bench reinstated Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. However, even that was overturned by a 5 judge bench in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India in 2018, decriminalizing homosexuality once again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faisal Manap</span> Singaporean politician

Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kaki Bukit division of Aljunied GRC since 2011 and has been serving as Vice-Chairman of the WP since 2016.

<i>Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India</i> Indian LGBT Rights Case Law

Navtej Singh Johar &Ors. v. Union of India thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice (2018) is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that decriminalised all consensual sex among adults, including homosexual sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M Ravi</span> Singaporean lawyer

Ravi Madasamy, better known as M Ravi, is a Singaporean former human rights lawyer and activist. Known for his work as a cause lawyer, he has acted in multiple leading cases in Singaporean constitutional law and human rights.

Yang Tuck Yoong is a Singaporean pastor associated with the charismatic movement. He is the founder of Cornerstone Community Church.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lum, Selina (28 February 2022). "Court of Appeal rules Section 377A stays but cannot be used to prosecute men for having gay sex". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  2. 1 2 Strangio, Sebastian (30 November 2022). "Singapore Repeals Archaic Law Criminalizing Sex Between Men". The Diplomat. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Douglas E. Sanders (2009). "377 and the Unnatural Afterlife of British Colonialism in Asia". Asian Journal of Comparative Law. 4 (1): 1–47. doi:10.2202/1932-0205.1176. [D.E. Sanders: Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia; LL.M. Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Academic Committee Member, Doctoral Program in Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University]. PDF available
  4. 1 2 Tham, Yuen-C (16 June 2022). "Support for Section 377A drops as attitudes towards same-sex relationships shift, survey finds". The Straits Times . Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 Ong, Justin (21 August 2022). "NDR 2022: Govt to repeal Section 377A, amend Constitution to protect marriage definition from legal challenges". TODAY. Singapore. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  6. 1 2 Tham, Yuen-C (21 August 2022). "NDR 2022: Govt will repeal Section 377A, but also amend Constitution to protect marriage from legal challenges". The Straits Times . Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Goh, Yan Han (29 November 2022). "Parliament repeals Section 377A, endorses amendments protecting definition of marriage". The Straits Times. Singapore. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "S377A officially repealed after President Halimah gives assent to Bill". The Straits Times. 3 January 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 ""This Alien Legacy: The Origins of 'Sodomy' Laws in British Colonialism", Human Rights Watch, 2008" (PDF).
  10. ↑ R v Jacobs (1817) Russ & Ry 331 confirmed that buggery related only to intercourse per anum by a man with a man or woman, or intercourse per anum or per vaginam by either a man or a woman with an animal. Other forms of "unnatural intercourse" may amount to indecent assault or gross indecency, but do not constitute buggery (see generally: Smith & Hogan, Criminal Law (10th ed.) ISBN 0-406-94801-1)
  11. ↑ Public Prosecutor v Kwan Kwong Weng [1997] 1 SLR(R) 316 at [29]–[31].
  12. ↑ "Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2007 - Singapore Statutes Online". Singapore Statutes Online.
  13. ↑ "Penal Code 1871 - Singapore Statutes Online". Singapore Statutes Online. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "Romantic rabble v coy court". Yawning Bread. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  15. ↑ "Section 377A in Singapore and the (De)Criminalization of Homosexuality" (PDF). National University of Singapore. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2019. Section 377A only criminalizes sex between males, but not between females.
  16. ↑ "Penal Code 1871". Singapore Statutes Online.
  17. ↑ Chua Kher Shing, Lynette J. (2003). "Saying No: Sections 377 and 377A of the Penal Code". Singapore Journal of Legal Studies: 209–261. JSTOR   24868200.
  18. ↑ Ng, Gilaine (10 September 2018). "55 per cent of Singapore residents support Section 377A: Ipsos survey". The Straits Times. Singapore. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "Singapore Lawmakers Debate Petition to Abolish Gay Sex Ban". Fox News . Associated Press. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  20. ↑ "Repeal377A.com". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
  21. ↑ "Keep377A.com". 2007. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008.
  22. ↑ "keep377a overtakes repeal377a". Family&Freedom. 20 October 2007.
  23. ↑ Mokhtar, Faris (9 September 2018). "Penal Code set to undergo overhaul, to better protect vulnerable victims against abuse and sexual crimes". Today. Singapore. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  24. ↑ Chua, Alfred (30 September 2018). "Activists submit online petition, but Govt has 'no plans' to repeal S377A". Today. Singapore. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  25. ↑ Keat, Leong Wee (29 November 2010). "Lawyer challenges gay sex law". Today . Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  26. ↑ Waipang, Alex Au (19 March 2011). "High Court waves away 377A controversy". Yawning Bread . Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  27. ↑ Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA, V K Rajah JA and Judith Prakash J (21 August 2012). "Tan Eng Hong v Attorney-General". singaporelaw.sg. Court of Appeal of Singapore. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  28. ↑ "Second of two 377A challenges may have to wait a long time for a decision". Yawning Bread. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  29. ↑ "Singapore High Court upholds anti-gay law in Tan Eng Hong's case". Fridae: Connecting Gay Asia. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  30. ↑ "Court of Appeal Does Right By Tan Eng Hong: Joint hearing for section 377A appeals". IonSG. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  31. ↑ "Singapore couple sue to end sodomy law". San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  32. ↑ Waipang, Alex Au (2 December 2012). "New constitutional challenge to Section 377A filed". Yawning Bread. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  33. ↑ Lim, Leonard (14 February 2013). "Legal challenge to Section 377A begins in the High Court; judgment reserved". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  34. ↑ Wong, Tessa (9 April 2013). "High Court upholds anti-gay sex law, dismisses legal challenge". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  35. ↑ "Gay Singaporean couple file appeal over ban on private consensual sex". LGBT Weekly. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  36. ↑ AndrewPhang Boon Leong JA, Belinda Ang Saw Ean J and WooBih Li J (28 October 2014). "Lim Meng Suang and another v Attorney-Generaland another appeal and another matter". singaporelaw.sg. Court of Appeal of Singapore. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  37. ↑ Xin, Sia Ling (9 July 2013). "S'pore gay couple hire top lawyers for Section 377A appeal". Yahoo! News Singapore. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  38. ↑ Kriegler, Yun (11 July 2013). "Goldsmith to challenge Singaporean government on anti-gay laws". The Lawyer. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  39. ↑ Burton, Lucy (20 September 2013). "Goldsmith kicked off anti-gay challenge by Singapore High Court in favour of local counsel". The Lawyer: Advancing the business of law. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  40. 1 2 3 Lum, Selina (29 October 2014). "Court of Appeal rules that Section 377A that criminalises sex between men is constitutional". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  41. 1 2 Tan, Andrea (29 October 2014). "Singapore's Ban on Gay Male Sex Is Upheld by Top Court". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  42. ↑ Allegretti, David (22 June 2016). "What It's Like to Be Young and Gay in Singapore". VICE. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  43. ↑ Mosbergen, Dominique (13 October 2015). "How Singapore Is Limiting Basic Human Rights". HuffPost. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  44. ↑ Ho, Olivia (29 August 2018). "Businessman Ho Kwon Ping opens up on his ISA detention at packed ST Book Club event". The Straits Times. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  45. ↑ Yahya, Yasmine (7 September 2018). "Tommy Koh's Facebook comment reignites debate on Singapore's gay sex law". The Straits Times. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  46. ↑ Chua, Alfred (12 September 2018). "Repeal of section 377A will end 'online vitriol and abuse' against LGBTQ community, says DJ who filed legal challenge". Today. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  47. ↑ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (22 January 2019). "LGBT rights advocate files case against Attorney-General, stating Section 377A of Penal Code is void". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  48. ↑ Kurohi, Rei (25 September 2019). "LGBT activist and retired GP Roy Tan files new court challenge against Section 377A". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  49. ↑ Kurohi, Rei (30 March 2020). "High Court dismisses challenges against law that criminalises sex between men". The Straits Times. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  50. ↑ Ong Ming Johnson v Attorney-General and other matters,2020 SGHC 63( High Court of the Republic of Singapore 30 March 2020).
  51. ↑ Kurohi, Rei (31 March 2020). "Two men file appeals against High Court decision to dismiss Section 377A challenge". The Straits Times. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  52. ↑ "Singapore's top court dismisses attempt to overturn gay sex ban". Reuters. 28 February 2022.
  53. ↑ "'Only reason why we can have a decision in Parliament': Shanmugam on PAP imposing whip for Section 377A". AsiaOne. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  54. ↑ Iau, Jean (28 November 2022). "PSP supports repeal of S377A, calls for national referendum on definition of marriage". The Straits Times. Singapore. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  55. ↑ Goh, Yan Han (3 January 2023). "S377A officially repealed after President Halimah gives assent to Bill". The Straits Times. Singapore. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  56. ↑ "Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2022". Singapore Statutes Online. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  57. ↑ Ming, Lee Chong (30 November 2022). "MHA to consider records of 17 people convicted under Section 377A between 1988 and 2007". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 10 December 2022.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.