Section 377A is always go by back one, why shamugam don't know meh?
Government considering 'best way forward' on 377A, will respect different viewpoints: Shanmugam
SINGAPORE: The Government is considering the “best way forward” on Section 377A, which criminalises gay sex, and in doing so will respect different viewpoints and consider them carefully, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Thursday (Mar 3).
“And if and when we decide to move, we will do so in a way that continues to balance between these different viewpoints, and avoids causing a sudden, destabilising change in social norms and public expectations,” he said in Parliament.
“Policies need to evolve to keep abreast of such changes in views. And legislation needs to evolve to support updated policies.”
Mr Shanmugam was speaking during the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) Committee of Supply debate, following the Court of Appeal dismissing challenges to Section 377A of the Penal Code on Monday.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) is currently looking at the Court of Appeal’s decision carefully, he said.
Section 377A states that any man who commits any act of gross indecency with another man in public or in private can be jailed for up to two years. This extends to any man who abets such an act, procures or attempts to procure such an act.
The challenges were mounted by marketing executive and disc jockey Johnson Ong Ming, retired general practitioner Roy Tan Seng Kee and Bryan Choong Chee Hoong, the former executive director of LGBT non-profit organisation Oogachaga.
