Singapore will decriminalise sex between men, the prime minister said on Sunday, effectively making it legal to be homosexual in the city-state.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the government would repeal Section 377A of the penal code, a colonial-era law that criminalises sex between men, adding that society was becoming more accepting of gay people.
"I believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept," he said in his annual National Day rally speech.
However, Lee said the government had no intention of changing the city-state's legal definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
"Even as we repeal Section 377A, we will uphold and safeguard the institution of marriage (...). Under the law, only marriages between one man and one woman are recognised in Singapore," Lee added.
Singapore chose to retain the colonial-era ban on gay sex after it won independence from Britain in 1965.
Section 377A has not been actively enforced in recent years, allowing a vibrant LGBT scene to develop in Singapore, including gay nightclubs.
But LGBT activists have long called for the ban to be scrapped, saying it perpetuates social stigma and discrimination aimed at gay people.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
