On 28 February 2022, the Singapore Court of Appeal reinforced a moratorium on the arrest of gay men engaging in consensual, same-sex sexual activity, which fell short of removing a discriminatory, criminalising law from the statute books.

Section 377A, which further targeted any form of intimacy between male same-sex couples, was introduced in 1938. Section 377 was ultimately repealed by the Singaporean parliament in 2007, though on the basis that it was up to heterosexual couples what they did in the bedroom. The ‘gross indecency between males’ provision was expressly left in place to ensure gay men were still criminalised.

According to the law, men who commit any act of ‘gross indecency’ with other men can be jailed for up to two years. This also extends to any man who abets, procures or attempts to procure such an act. In the judgment, Tan Seng Kee v Attorney General, the five-judge bench concluded that, ‘[…] the entirety of s 377A is unenforceable unless and until the AG of the day provides clear notice […].’

Watch Téa Braun, our Chief Executive, analyse the decision.

Note: Singapore's Parliament subsequently decriminalised in November 2022.