Sex between men will be decriminalised in Singapore at a time when society is becoming more accepting of gay people, the country’s prime minister has said.

Lee Hsien Loong announced the government will repeal Section 377A of the penal code, a colonial-era law that criminalises sex between men.

Under Section 377A, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, but it is not currently actively enforced.

There have been no known convictions for sex between consenting adult males for decades and the law does not include sex between women or other genders.

Mr Lee said Singapore is a traditional society with conservative social values, and he also vowed to “uphold and safeguard the institution of marriage” between a man and a woman, saying only those marriages are recognised in the city state.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups in Singapore have brought multiple legal challenges trying to get the controversial law thrown out, but none have succeeded.

Explaining the reasons for repeal, Mr Lee noted there was a real risk of judges ruling against the law in future challenges, and it would be unwise to ignore this and do nothing.

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Societal attitudes towards gay people have also “shifted appreciably” and it was timely to consider again whether sex between men in private should be a criminal offence, he added.

“We need to find the right way to reconcile and accommodate both the traditional mores of our society, and the aspiration of gay Singaporeans to be respected and accepted,” he said.

“I believe (repeal) is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept. This will bring the law into line with current social mores, and I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans,” he was quoted as saying by the Straits Times.

Giving his annual national day rally speech, the prime minister said that Section 377A was originally introduced in the 1930s by the British colonial government, when attitudes were different.

He said that over time, homosexuality has become better understood, resulting in greater acceptance of gay people.

Many countries with similar laws have also repealed them including several nations in Asia, he went on.

The South China Morning Post reported that according to previous polls, six in 10 people in 2013 felt gay sex was always wrong.

But the figure dropped to five in 10 when the same question was asked in 2019 to more than 4,000 respondents.

Another poll found that the proportion of Singaporeans who oppose 377A had risen from 12% in 2018 to 20% today, said the paper.

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