State Takes Active Stand on Non-Enforcement of Anti-Homosexuality Law

Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2008 Posted: 12:25:03PM HKT

Clockwise from top left: A Christian church, a Muslim mosque, a Buddhist shrine, and a Hindu temple. (Photo: The Christian Post Singapore)

An implicit rule in the city-state, that though homosexual acts are declared to be against the law, they are not actively prosecuted, was given vocal expression by the Home Affairs Minister in his reply to a letter from a Nominated Member of Parliament.

Mr. Wong Kan Seng was responding to a question from NMP Siew Kum Hong regarding Mr. Chan Mun Chiong’s charge. Mr. Chan was being charged for gross indecency under the Penal Code for having oral sex with a 16-year-old male, reported Today.

To which, Mr. Wong replied that it was not a case of active enforcement of the law, because the act had taken place in a public location—the toilet of a shopping complex.

Besides, added the minister, an offence was caused to another individual, in that the 16-year-old victim lodged a complaint and, as long as there is a complaint of an alleged offence under Section 377A, the anti-homosexuality law, the police will “act upon the complaint”. But still it is up to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to decide whether to proceed with prosecution.

The Public Prosecutor charged Mr. Chan under Section 377A “after taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the case, including the complainant’s age and the fact that the offence had taken place in a public toilet”. The charge, however, was not proceeded with, but taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing, said Today.

Mr. Chan was also found guilty earlier this month of having sex without disclosing his HIV-positive status and sentenced to a year’s jail under the Infectious Diseases Act.

Under the anti-homosexuality rule, the state has been prosecuting violations of the anti-homosexuality law only insofar as they publicly promote a homosexual lifestyle, but not if the practices are carried out privately. Because of this, there has been no active prosecution of homosexual lifestyles to date, but at the same time, the state has come down hard on media agencies that have broadcasted programmes with homosexual content, with the Media Development Authority having imposed cautionary fines on two prominent agencies.

The passive anti-homosexual stance of the government comes from a curious hybrid of the presence of an active conservative minority including in particular Christians and Muslims, and at the same time, a self-declared secular state.

The clear voice of the conservative vocal minority has ensured, in a democratic, pluralist republic, that the anti-homosexuality law is not abolished in spite of calls from active homosexual lobbyists in the nation, which, in the words of a prominent local evangelical leader, is a ‘strong’ one.

However, in the same vein, the state has to take into account the stand of each one of the diverse groups present in the nation, including homosexuals, leading the leaders to have the anti-homosexuality law present in principle, but for all intents and purposes, ineffective.

In the end, in a democratic pluralist environment, the mobilisation of views has proven itself to be a most effective platform to steer governance, and if the state, which is neutral, is ever to adopt a conservative standpoint, that would have to begin from a change of its pluralist stance to a truly democratic one, where democracy need not be defined by the promotion of every single existing view in society, but by a certain rule of law, which begs the question of where ultimate authority lies.

Nathanael Ng
nathanael@christianpost.com