High Court dismisses another challenge against gay-sex law

SINGAPORE: The High Court has dismissed another challenge to the constitutionality of Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men.

In a 54-page judgement on Wednesday (Oct 2), Justice Quentin Loh said the basis of Section 377A is "an issue of morality and societal values".

And "Parliament has the mandate under our Constitution and system of law to make decisions on and surrounding controversial issues", he said.

He added that "Parliament can take steps to amend legislation to reflect societal norms and values if it occurs to Parliament that the tide of social and public opinion has shifted".

The challenge that he dismissed on Wednesday had been mounted by Mr Tan Eng Hong, who was caught having oral sex in a shopping mall toilet with another man.

Mr Tan was originally charged under Section 377A, though the charge was later changed to committing an obscene act in a public place.

He pleaded guilty to the revised charge and was fined.

But he also mounted a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 377A.

Separately, a similar challenge had earlier been mounted by Gary Lim Meng Suang and Kenneth Chee Mun-Leon, two men who have been a couple for 15 years.

The challenge was thrown out by Justice Loh in April 2013 on grounds which he revisited in his ruling on Mr Tan's challenge on Wednesday.

In his judgement on Wednesday, Justice Loh reiterated that Singapore is, "like many other societies around the world, in the midst of change".

"It is an undeniable fact that society's perceptions of sexual and other morals change over time. However, these changes, to varying degrees, take time, some of which can be accurately characterised as generational in nature," he reiterated.