by Beh Lih Yi

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As a Singapore court prepares to hear a series of legal challenges to a law that bans gay sex, LGBT+ activists on Tuesday called for the “right” verdict to be delivered so similar reforms can be triggered across other parts of Asia.

Like many other former British colonies, Singapore has retained an old law that criminalises gay sex, which was scrapped by India in a landmark court ruling last year to give a boost to LGBT+ rights. Empowered by the Indian ruling, three Singaporean activists have launched separate bids in a renewed push to decriminalise gay sex in the city-state, where a high court is due to begin hearing their cases on Wednesday.

“I think public opinion is pretty clear across religious and age segments that homosexuality should not be a criminal offence,” Johnson Ong Ming, who was among the trio, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Ong, a DJ also known as DJ Big Kid, was the first to launch the case in September last year. The former head of a LGBT+ rights charity and a retired doctor also filed similar lawsuits later.

The court has set aside six days in November for the legal challenges to be heard but it is unclear when the proceedings will wrap up. Read more via Reuters