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November 9, 2006
Singapore to legalise anal, oral sex - but only for heterosexuals
By News Editor

http://www.fridae. com/newsfeatures /article. php?
articleid=1800& viewarticle= 1

As part of Singapore's first major penal code amendments in 22 years,
anal and oral sex in private among between consenting heterosexual
adults will soon be decriminalised but the law criminalising sexual
acts between men will remain.

Anal and oral sex will no longer be a criminal offence in Singapore
but this will only apply to consenting heterosexual adults while
sexual acts between men will remain a crime, the government said on
Wednesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it has conducted a detailed
review of sexual offences in the penal code. The review was first
announced in November 2003 after a huge public outcry erupted over
the injustice of convicting a police constable for consensual oral
sex with a teenager who was thought to be of legal age until later.

A relic of British colonial rule, Section 377 - which criminalises
sexual acts 'against the order of nature with any man, woman or
animals' and provides for life imprisonment for life, or with
imprisonment and a fine - will be repealed while Section 377A, which
criminalises "gross indecency" between males whether in public or in
private and prescribes up to two years' imprisonment, will be left as
is.

Britain, Hong Kong and Australia have since repealed laws prohibiting
sex between men in 1967, 1991 and 1997 (in the state of Tasmania, the
last Australian state to do so) respectively.

An "explanatory note" issued by MHA to official newsrooms after
office hours on Tuesday, which was obtained by Fridae, read: "The law
on sexual offences deals with sexual relationships and embodies what
society considers acceptable or unacceptable behaviour.

"When it comes to homosexual acts, the issue is whether Singaporeans
are ready to change laws to bring them in line with heterosexual
acts. Singapore remains, by and large, a conservative society. Many
do not tolerate homosexuality, and consider such acts abhorrent and
deviant. Many religious groups also do not condone homosexual acts.
This is why the Government is neither encouraging nor endorsing a
homosexual lifestyle and presenting it as part of the mainstream way
of life."

The news has enraged the local gay community. Miak, who is an active
member of several gay groups, said: "What is the argument for the
decriminalising of non-vaginal sex between heterosexuals but not for
homosexuals? Is it about how conservative Singapore society is, and
how some people find homosexual sex deviant, offensive, repugnant? I
think that the same people might also find non-vaginal - meaning oral/
anal sex which will soon be legalised - deviant, offensive and
repugnant too!"

"The law hasn't been used to prosecute in recent times - so what is
the point of retaining it? To maintain a facade of moral standards?"

While welcoming the repeal of Section 377, gay and lesbian advocacy
group People Like Us (PLU) said that the "assurance" that it "will
not be proactive in enforcing the section against adult males
engaging in consensual sex with each other in private" is inadequate
as it cannot be relied upon legally.

In a statement issued on Wednesday to call on the government to
repeal both Section 377 and 377A, PLU said: "The retention of s.377A,
even if not enforced, will signal to many that homophobia is
justifiable and acceptable and has the support of the State.

"If the government aims for an open, inclusive society, it should be
doing all it can to overturn prejudice and discrimination, rather
than give people reason to remain closed-minded through retaining s.
377A for symbolic purposes."

Subhas Anandan, president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers in
Singapore, questioned the rationale for not repealing Section 377A in
a Channelnewsasia interview: "If you are a homosexual or a lesbian, I
think you can get into trouble. We are talking about an inclusive
society and being more broad-minded. Why do we want to keep these
people away, out of the circle? I think we should be more broad-
minded, more sympathetic and allow these people to be included in our
society."

Other proposed amendments include new laws to combat child
prostitution, sex tourism, strengthened prosecution of credit card
fraud and the extension of several offences to the electronic media
including the Internet as well as a clarification of the definition
of an unlawful assembly. In total, the proposed changes would add 19
new ones, affect 19 existing offences, and review penalties, and will
now be open to public feedback for a month via reach.gov.sg.