Penal Code on Gayism in Singapore

Question 1
THE highest court in Singapore has upheld Section 377A of the Penal Code, the law that
criminalises sex between men, rejecting arguments that the provision contravenes the
Constitution.
The three-judge Court of Appeal ruled that Section 377A did not violate the Constitution.
The judgment added: “(The appellants’) remedy lies, if at all, in the legislative sphere.”
The case came after a gay couple, and a man charged with having oral sex with another man
in a public toilet, applied to the courts to void S377A, arguing it was discriminatory. In
November last year, Mr Gary Lim, 44, and Mr Kenneth Chee, 37, who have been partners for
more than 16 years, challenged S377A, arguing, for one thing, that it was discriminatory
since it only targeted men and not women. It therefore breached the couple’s constitutional
right to equality.
There has been much debate in the Singapore Parliament and public sphere with regard to
Section 377A. The two articles provided reflect the debate regarding this issue.
Do you think that Section 377A of the Penal Code should be repealed?
In about 1000 words, develop an essay that applies persuasive argumentative writing
strategies to defend your position on this issue. Other than citing sources to provide
supporting arguments for your position, you MUST anticipate objections and provide
counterarguments to write the paper. Relevant information for you to evaluate and synthesise
would be:
? Definition of Section 377A of the Penal Code
? Issues (moral, ethical, social and etc.) surrounding Section 377A of the Penal Code
? Arguments for upholding Section 377A of the Penal Code
? Arguments against upholding Section 377A of the Penal Code
(100 marks)
COR160 Tutor-Marked Assignment
SIM UNIVERSITY Tutor-Marked Assignment – Page 4 of 7
Guidance Notes
1. Your reasoning must be good.
2. Strengthen your argument by using examples and illustrations.
3. You may include any additional but relevant information to the ideas that have
already been given in the scenario and articles.
4. You should use at least 7 research sources to help you write your essay. The
given articles are considered as a separate research source each and can count
towards the 7 research sources.
5. You are to use credible and reliable sources to help you write this essay. Marks
will be deducted for non-credible and unreliable content.
6. Remember to use accurate grammar, correct sentence structures and a tone
appropriate to academic writing. Marks will be deducted for poor English.