Report of s377A Hearing at the Court of Appeal, Singapore
This article is written by Indulekshmi Rajeswari, one of our active contributors and original founders of Sayoni. She is a law graduate who is currently getting her qualification for the bar. She has been actively involved in the case since last year and is currently the only person on M Ravi's legal team.
Writer's note: As I am intimately involved with the case, it would not be appropriate of me to give my personal thoughts on the matter, especially since the judgment is not out yet. However, a factual account is still warranted.
27th Sept was a fairly historic day. For the very first time, the Court of Appeal in Singapore heard a case relating to sexual orientation. Judgment has been reserved till a later date.
The journey to get here has been long and filled with sleepless nights, but I personally am glad I sacrificed sleep (and some sanity).
Sayoni has reported on this legal saga that started last year, with M Ravi filing a constitutional challenge against s377A in the name of Tan Eng Hong, someone who was caught for public sex with another man and charged under s377A. The charge was later dropped and substituted with s294(a), concerning an obscene act in public. Subsequently, the AGC filed to strike out the constitutional challenge and eventually, the motion came all the way to the Court of Appeal.
The hearing today focused on whether the plaintiff (the Appellant in this case) had the right to even bring the challenge. Both sides had voluminous written arguments. The AGC team was lead by Chief Prosecutor Aedit Abdullah. It must be noted that Aedit Abdullah is a well-respected Deputy Public Prosecutor who was a former Senior District Judge. He had three assisting counsel, including Teo Guan Siew, whose resume is also fairly impressive. The Appellant's team was led by M Ravi, who is known for having brought various constitutional challenges. At the time of this article, I was the sole person on his legal team.
