March 2005

List of Section 377 and 377A cases

source: The lists here are taken from the appendices to a paper written by Lynette J Chua Kher Shing, published in the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, [2003] 209-261, titled, "Saying No: Sections 377 and 377A of the Penal Code". She argues in her paper why the law should be repealed.

     

  

 

 
Section 377 of the Penal Code

This Section reads: Whoever has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.

List of cases, Aug 1992 - Feb 2003 [1]:

Case Year Partner (age) Acts Notes
Raymond Pok 2003 Girl (14/16) Fellatio, anal Also charged, inter alia, for rape under Section 376.
Philip Lim Beng Cheok [4] 2003 Boy (13-15) Fellatio Also charged under section 377A . The report was unclear about the alleged acts, mentioning only fellatio and masturbation. Thus it is likely that fellatio charge came under Section 377.
Siddarth Mujumdar 2002 Girls (11,9) Fellatio Violence used, also charged under Section 354.
Peh Thian Hui 2002 Girl (13-14) Fellatio Girl was his lover's daughter. Also charged under Sections 376 and 354.
Wong Siu Fai 2002 Boy (5) Fellatio Accused performed fellatio on the boy, his friend's son.
Jaberali 2001 Man Fellatio Accused consented to the man's request for fellatio, but subsequently robbed and hurt the man.
Nathan 2000 Woman Fellatio Used force, also charged with rape.
Ong Li Xia 2000 Girl (age unclear) Bestiality Accused "abetted" and "instigated" the survivor to suck a dog's penis; also charged under Section 509 for forcing the survivor to insert foreign objects into her vagina.
Michael G Neto 2000 Woman Fellatio Threatened woman with knife; also charged with rape, housebreaking and robbery.
Tan Ah Kit 2000 Boys (13,14) Fellatio, anal One of the boys had "moderate mental retardation".
Lim Chee Yong 2000 Woman Anal Woman, his lover, reported the incident. Judge accepted her evidence that there was no consent.
Abdul Hamid bin Yahya 2000 Girls (10,12) Fellatio Girls were his orphaned nieces; also Section 354 charges.
Adam bin Darsin 2000 8 boys (12,14) Fellatio Accused performed fellatio on the boys.
Radhakrishna 1999 Girl Fellatio Girl was the accused person's biological daughter. Threatened to beat her if she resisted; also charged with rape.
Mohd Saifuddin bin Ayub 1999 Girl (14) Not clear Brother-in-law of girl; also rape charges.
Muhd Ramatullah 1999 Woman Fellatio Woman was tourist from Australia; also convicted of rape.
Lim Hock Hin, Kelvin 1998 5 boys (8-12) Anal Charged for fellatio under Section 377A; had previous convictions for similar offences. Court imposed a sentencing guideline for pedophiles. [2]
Kwan Kwok Weng 1997 Girl (19) Fellatio Rape charges dropped; prosecution conceded that there was consent.
Abdul Nasir bin Abdul Rahim 1997 Girls (9,6) Fellatio, anal Girls were his step-daughters; also rape charges.
Tan Kuan Meng 1996 Woman Fellatio Also rape and extortion (Section 385) charges.
Norli bin Jasmani 1996 Girl (13) Fellatio Girl was his niece; also rape charges.
Victor Rajoo 1995 Woman Fellatio High Court acquitted him of rape but convicted him for Section 377 acts; Court of Appeal convicted him of rape.
Sikendar Sellamarican 1994 Boy (13) Fellatio, anal Had previous similar convictions also involving children.
Kanaga sutharam 1992 Girl (17) Fellatio, anal Hit girl continuously and put her "in constant fear of being stabbed." Also rape charges.
Jumahat 1992 Girl (age unclear) Fellatio Also rape charges. But the court found that prosecution had failed on evidence and acquitted the accused.

 

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Section 377A of the Penal Code

This section reads: Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by nay male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years.

List of cases, Nov 1988 - Jan 2003

Case Year Partner (age) Acts Notes
Armstrong Desmond Ronald 2003 Boy (17) [3] Fellatio, anal Boy was youth volunteer under the supervision of the accused, a youth worker.
Philip Lim Beng Cheok 2003 Boy (13-15) Masturbation Also charged under section 377 . The report was unclear about the alleged acts, mentioning only fellatio and masturbation. Thus it is likely that the masturbation charge came under Section 377A.
Lim Hock Hin, Kelvin 1998 5 boys (8-12) Fellatio (Also) charged with having anal sex under Section 377.
Kong Chee Cheong 1995 - Fellatio Later extorted consenting partner, putting him in fear of injury.
Ng Huat 1995 Patient Touching Accused was radiographer attending to the complainant.
Abdul Malik bin Othman 1993 - Fellatio Consenting partner; in public children's pool.
Lau Kim Soon 1988 - Fellatio and masturbation Consenting partner; public place.
Tan Teck Hua 1988 - Fellatio and masturbation Consenting partner; public place (same incident as Lau Kim Soon)

 

 
Foreword by Yawning Bread

This is going to be a very useful list for future reference.

To begin with, there is a commentary in the article The picture that emerges, which touches on some quick impressions from the data here.

 

 

 

 

 

On this page, some other clauses of the Penal Code are also mentioned. Very briefly, these are what those clauses deal with:

Section 354 :Assault or use of criminal force to a person with intent to outrage modesty.

Section 375 and 376: Rape

Section 385: Putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion

Section 509: Word or gesture intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

 

Footnotes - Yawning Bread's own notes, unless source otherwise given

  1. You'd notice that the celebrated case of Anis Abdullah (see The blowjob that blew down our oral sex law) is not in this list. That's because it was tried in Nov 2003, after Lynette Chua's paper was completed.
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  2. As noted by Lynette Chua,

    3. Court imposed a sentencing guideline for pedophiles: "Bearing in mind the gravity of the offence, we started from the position that a paedophile who commits unnatural carnal intercourse (in the form of anal intercourse) against young children below the age of 14 years, without any aggravating or mitigating factors, should be sentenced to ten years' imprisonment."

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  3. This case may seem to suggest that age 17 is below the age of maturity, but in fact this is complicated by the facts of the case itself. As noted by Lynette Chua, 

    The accused (Armstrong) was convicted of committing fellatio under Section 377A with a 17-year-old boy. The acts were consensual and in private, and the boy's age "cannot be considered as tender." Nevertheless, the court refused to treat the case "as being in the same category as offences which occurred in private between 2 consenting and mature adults with homosexual inclinations." Instead, it focussed on how he was a youth worker, and the complainant was a volunteer under his supervision. The court also emphasized that the accused had betrayed the trust of the complainant's "naive and simple parents" who let the accused stay overnight in the same room with their son. The judgment indicates that the court had in mind the protection of young people from abuse of authority and trust.

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  4. This case was discussed in the article Tutor gets 18 years for abusing his pupils, The interesting thing about this case was the way many of accused's former students attended court to give their former teacher moral support, and became character witnesses for him.      
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Addenda

None