Singapore May Legalize Gay Sex

Singapore's highest court is considering whether it is unconstitutional to criminalize gay sex. The case arose, interestingly, from a tea room incident.

This comes after a ruling by the Court of Appeal earlier this week on a bid by Tan Eng Hong to have Section 377A of the Penal Code declared unconstitutional. This section states that a man who “commits any act of gross indecency with another man” will be punished by law. The accused was arrested for having oral sex with another man at a public toilet in CityLink Mall in March 2010. He later successfully applied to have 377A of the Penal Code declared unconstitutional for several reasons, including violating his right to personal liberty. The charge against Mr Hong was then changed to a different section of the Penal Code – Section 294(a) – which meant he was charged with committing an obscene act in a public place.

"Gross indecency" between two males is presently punishable by two years in prison. Singapore rarely enforces that law, however, and the small nation has recently seen a surge in open LGBT activism via the annual Pink Dot event.