On homosexuality,
religious offences and marital rape
The recent Penal Code review was the most comprehensive in 23
years. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng shares with LI XUEYING
the thinking behind some of its key changes
Straits Times, The
(Singapore)
Insight
November 9, 2007
Author: Li Xueying
THE e-mail messages poured in. So did the snail mail letters.
They came from individuals, organisations, ordinary
Singaporeans.
And Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng read them all.
They were about the proposed Penal Code amendments. Among them were
those that called for the repeal of Section 377A which deems sex
between men a crime. Others were against it.
He 'read every one of them', he tells Insight in an e-mail
interview, before forwarding them to his staff to be evaluated and
consolidated as feedback.
He also chaired numerous meetings with his staff in the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) to decide which parts of the Code to retain and
which parts to rewrite or repeal.
This was followed by papers to Cabinet, which approved the proposed
amendments.
The Home Affairs Minister revealed the process to make the point
that the outcome of the Penal Code review was not one reached
lightly.
This included the decision on Section 377A - that it would
stay.
Ultimately, 'the decision we made reflects the pragmatic attitudes
of the majority of Singaporeans - we live and let live', he
says.
'It maintains the balance by upholding a stable society with
traditional heterosexual family values, but with space for
homosexuals.'
It has certainly been a busy year for Mr Wong.
He is occupied with not just the Penal Code under his portfolio as
Home Affairs Minister, but also population issues, in his capacity
as chairman of the National Population Committee.
He has been tasked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong with tackling
Singapore's population problem - identified as one of the country's
key long-term challenges.
So far, the results have been encouraging.
Figures Mr Wong released during the interview indicate that
Singapore is likely to hit a new record this year in wooing new
citizens and permanent residents to settle here, boosting
population numbers.
Public consultation significant in review
THE review of the Penal Code - Singapore's main piece of criminal
law with more than 500 provisions - is the most comprehensive in 23
years.
Four provisions were repealed; 77 provisions expanded, updated or
clarified; and 21 new offences introduced.
It was three years in the making, and included revisions made after
public feedback was hoisted in.
Indeed, it was this aspect that Mr Wong counts as one of the
significant achievements of the review - 'the active participation
of Singaporeans'.
'All views received were considered,' he said.
He gave a few examples:
There were concerns over potential female abuse of vulnerable
males. Thus, it was made an offence for a woman to engage in sexual
activities with a boy or a man with a mental disability.
Another new offence was introduced to address concerns over the
vulnerability of minors to sex predators prowling the
Internet.
In particular, Mr Wong focused on Section 298A, which punishes
those who knowingly commit an act aimed at causing religious or
racial disharmony.
'While there was strong support for these amendments, there were
concerns over the seemingly broad scope of the offence,' he
said.
'In response to this feedback, we added the requirement of
'knowingly promotes' in Section 298A that mirrors the requirement
of 'deliberate intention of wounding' in Section 298. This showed
that we were prepared to listen and make further refinements,' he
said.
Preserving racial and religious harmony
IN THE brave - and sometimes reckless - new world of the Internet,
298A is 'important because we want to preserve racial and religious
harmony', said Mr Wong.
Previously, the law could not be used to deal with actions likely
to cause racial disharmony, nor could it be applied against
offensive blogs or other Internet media.
Prosecutors had to deal with such cases under the Sedition Act,
legislation to punish seditious activities which incite rebellion
against the state.
'The new section covers deliberate promotion of both religious and
racial disharmony, and would cover Internet and other
publications,' said Mr Wong.
The amendments therefore enabled such offences to be investigated
under the Penal Code, he added.
However, some observers have asked if the law is the best recourse
with such offences, arguing that Singapore should strengthen its
social immune system such as by naming and shaming the culprit
instead.
Asked if the latter might have been a better way forward, Mr Wong
said the laws 'complement' efforts to promote racial and religious
harmony, such as Racial Harmony Day and inter-faith events. There
are also websites promoting racial harmony.
Marital immunity
MOVING away from religion to rape, Mr Wong touched on the law on
marital immunity.
Previously, a man could not be charged with raping his wife at all
under the law.
While this is now changed to allow the authorities to go after the
husband in certain circumstances - such as when the wife has
applied for divorce, or if she has applied for a legal protection
order, MPs during the Parliamentary debate on the Bill were clearly
dissatisfied.
Rape is rape, they said. Make it illegal for husbands to rape wives
altogether.
Asked about this, Mr Wong said it is a 'difficult and delicate
issue'. As the family is the basic building block of society, 'we
were therefore very careful about making laws that would intrude
into the relationship between man and wife'.
Total abolition of marital immunity 'was not currently desirable as
it would mean the law will henceforth regard the husband no
different from a stranger whether they are married or in an
otherwise happy marriage', he said.
Thus, MHA's approach tries to strike the right balance between the
two extremes.
'Wives will be protected. But at the same time, we do not want to
unwittingly create an arrangement that could encourage the
breakdown of the basic family unit.'
Such an approach 'empowers the wife', he said, as she can take
action to signal marital breakdown by taking one of the prescribed
steps so the husband neednot second-guess the demise of their
union.
'Our stance has always been to preserve the marriage and family,
and as much as possible, facilitate the reconciliation and
restoration of marriages and families.'
More robust debates to come
LOOKING back, the review saw robust debates such as that over
Section 377A.
And Mr Wong expects more of such vigorous exchanges to come.
'As the society matures, we will see such robust debates when we
make decisions that not all Singaporeans will agree with.
'It is critically important that we continue to maintain a
rational, mature and pragmatic attitude, so the different views do
not polarise our society or cause irreparable rifts.'
Singaporeans should work to 'expand the common space for all
citizens to live harmoniously together, rather than dwell on the
differences in views or lifestyles among segments in our
community'.
The most significant achievement of the review is that it
'reflected present realities and addressed the changing nature of
crime, while ensuring adequate protection for the more vulnerable
members of our society such as our young and mentally disabled',
said Mr Wong.
On whether Singaporeans will have to wait another 23 years for the
next review, he said there is no fixed date.
However, 'we will constantly monitor our laws to keep them up to
date and relevant', he promised.
[email protected]
Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
