Ex-PM questions gay sex ban in Singapore
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s powerful former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, acknowledging the view that some people are genetically destined to be homosexual, has questioned the city-state’s ban on sex between men.
“If in fact it is true, and I have asked doctors this, that you are genetically born a homosexual – because that’s the nature of the genetic random transmission of genes – you can’t help it. So why should we criminalise it?” the Straits Times quoted Lee as saying.
Under Singapore law, a man who is found to have committed an act of “gross indecency” with another man can be jailed for up to two years, though prosecutions are rare.
But Lee – who remains the most powerful minister in the Cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong – said Singapore should not actively pursue homosexuals who engage in sex. Lee said that while homosexuality was not widely accepted in Singapore, authorities must take a pragmatic approach.
Despite the official ban, Singapore has a thriving gay scene.
Source: nzherald.co.nzÂ