Second attempt to decriminalise gay sex in Singapore ‘FAILS’

A SECOND attempt to overturn Singapore’s law banning gay sex failed again. Singapore’s ban, which was introduced back in 1938, carries a jail sentence of at least two years for homosexual acts. However, the country’s high court rejected three recent challenges to the law (inherited from the British colonial era), which are no longer in line with the country’s more modern culture.

The latest attempt overturn the ban was led by a retired doctor, an LGBTQ+ rights activist and a DJ, who challenged the ban as unconstitutional. However, the high court dismissed all three, ruling that the law “did not violate articles of the constitution, regarding equality and freedom of speech.”

Today’s ruling was a huge setback for greater LGBTQ+ rights, not just in Singapore but Asia. India decriminalised gay sex by in 2018, and Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage just last year. The first attempt to overturn the law in Singapore, took place in 2014.