The Singapore Penal Code’s Section 377A, which dates back to the British colonial era, imposes a maximum two-year prison term for having sex with another man. It’s going to end now. However, this change will only be minor, and the laws governing marriage will remain unchanged.
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Singapore to decriminalise gay sex
According to the news agency AP, Singapore stated on Sunday that it would prohibit male-to-male sex by scrapping a colonial-era rule that protected conventional marital standards. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that he believed it was the right thing to do at this time because the majority of Singaporeans would now support it in his speech at the annual National Day rally.
He claimed that when adults have private intercourse with one another’s consent, there are no problems with law and order. There is no justification for this to constitute a crime or for individuals to be charged with it. Lee declared that Singapore’s traditional family and societal standards would not be impacted by the repeal of the statute criminalizing gay sex. Section 377A shall be repealed with caution. In the 1930s, Singapore adopted Section 377A of the Penal Code under British colonial rule.
British rule over Singapore was terminated in 1963 when it joined Malaysia as a state. When it became independent two years later, the British Penal Code, which made male-to-male sexual relations punishable by up to two years in prison, was retained. The law, according to gay men, discriminates against them and hangs a sword over their heads. In Singapore, tens of thousands of activists gather annually for the Pink Dot protest, which is held in favor of the LGBTQ community.