The picture that emerges

The following is from Yawning Bread. It's a detailed discussion that should be brought to the attention of all after recent allegations in the national media...


The picture that emerges from a list of convictions under Sections 377 and 377A of the Penal Code (See the appendix List of Section 377 and 377A cases) is quite interesting, and I am going to discuss three thoughts that came to mind, when I perused at it.
As most readers would know, Section 377 of our Penal Code criminalises "carnal intercourse against the order of nature", which generally means buggery or sodomy (a term that also includes fellatio).

Section 377A on the other hand, criminalises "gross indecency" between males, that is, any kind of sexual relationship short of sodomy.

Although the Section 377A cases are in the bottom half of the table (in the appendix), we'll start with them first; they are easier to dispose of.


The Section 377A cases

Through a 15-year period, 1988 - 2003, there were only 8 convictions under this law, involving 7 incidents (2 convictions were for the same incident). So this law is not often used. Moreover, it has not been used against consensual sex for 10 years, since 1993.

Of the 7 incidents, only 2 involved consensual sex: Tan and Lau, who had sex with each other, in 1988, and Abdul Malik in 1993. For some reason that is not clear, Abdul Malik's partner was not charged.

After Abdul Malik's case in 1993, there were no more cases of consensual sex.

Ng Huat's case (1995) involved the accused touching the genitals of his adult patient against the patient's will.

The cases of Kelvin Lim (1998), Philip Lim (2003) and Armstrong (2003) involved underaged victims.

Kong's incident in 1995 might have been consensual, but it was aggravated by an attempt to extort. His partner was the complainant for the extortion and was not charged under Section 377A. It is arguable then whether the gross indecency charge should have been left out, leaving only the extortion charge for Kong to face.

The list thus supports the view that consensual sex between males has not been brought under Section 377A since Abdul Malik's in 1993.

However, other laws have historically been used against gay males, notably Section 354 for Outrage of Modesty. This was the preferred law used in entrapment cases; however, entrapment ceased by the end of 1993. Its cessation is discussed more fully in the article How entrapment ended.


To read on go to Yawning Bread...