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Gay sex still illegal in
Singapore, oral and anal sex allowed
to heterosexuals
1 November, 2007
In the biggest and most significant
changes to Singapore’s criminal code
in about two decades, the parliament
of the city-state has rejected a
proposal to legalize sex between
homosexual men.
This means that Singapore’s anti-gay
law 377A remains, though prosecutions
are rare. However, the parliament has
repealed laws that restricted oral and
anal sex between heterosexuals.
The repeal was a part of a wider
reform of sex laws, many dating from
the British colonial era half a
century ago.
Singapore’s parliament repealed
sections of the Penal Code that
prohibit “carnal intercourse against
the order of nature,” legalizing the
practices between consenting
heterosexual adults.
Lawmakers rejected a petition which
sought to amend laws in which sex
between men is deemed an act of “gross
indecency” and carries a jail term of
two years.
Thousands of Singaporeans signed
open letters to the Prime Minister in
the run-up to the parliamentary debate
to show their support for, or
opposition to, the ban on gay sex.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong told lawmakers, “Singapore is
basically a conservative society. In
Singapore, by family we mean one man,
one woman marrying, having children
and bringing up children within that
framework.”
The Prime Minister said the government
did not consider gays to be a minority
having minority rights.
In a rare speech to parliament, the
Prime Minister said Singapore was a
conservative society, and that he
wanted to keep it so.
The changes made on October 23, 2007,
are among dozens of amendments to the
code, which represent the biggest
revision of criminal law in Singapore
since 1985.
The government had been reviewing its
sex laws since at least 2004, when a
policeman was jailed for receiving
oral sex from a teenage girl. The
judge who sentenced the policeman had
observed that “certain offences are
repulsive in Asian culture.”
Siew Kum Hong, the member of
Parliament who introduced the
petition, said that, by allowing anal
sex between heterosexual couples and
not between men, the new laws are
“selective and discriminatory.” The
petition said it was unconstitutional
to criminalize private and consensual
sex between men.
Singapore’ legislature, which is
dominated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong’s ruling People’s Action Party,
passed other laws banning paid sex
with anyone less than 18 years old,
including organizing or participating
in so-called child sex tours to other
nations.
The bills will now be sent to
Singapore’s President S R Nathan to be
signed into law.
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