SINGAPORE - India's decision to strike down a law banning gay sex has reignited a debate on the issue here, especially after a prominent figure voiced his support for Singapore to move in the same direction.

In a Facebook comment on Thursday (Sept 6) that has since been shared widely, former ambassador Tommy Koh wrote: “I would encourage our gay community to bring a class action to challenge the constitutionality of Section 377A”.

377A is the law that criminalises consensual sex between adult men, but is not actively enforced.

Prof Koh made the comment in a Facebook post of Mr Simon Chesterman, dean of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, who had shared an article.

In the post, Prof Chesterman congratulated a former classmate and others who had helped move the needle on the legal issue in India, culminating in Thursday's landmark ruling.

India's Supreme Court unanimously ruled to decriminalise consensual gay sex, with Chief Justice Dipak Misra calling the law, which the country also inherited from British colonial rule, "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary".

When another Facebook user pointed out to Prof Koh that there had been a failed attempt in Singapore in 2014 to challenge the constitutionality of 377A, he simply replied: "Try again." Read more via Straights Times