SINGAPORE - An activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, who is a retired general practitioner, has filed a new court challenge against Section 377A of the Penal Code, a law that criminalises sex between men, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

Dr Tan Seng Kee, 61, better known as Roy Tan, was the main organiser of the first Pink Dot event in 2009 advocating LGBT rights. He is represented by lawyer M. Ravi from Carson Law Chambers, who filed the case in the High Court last Friday (Sept 20). The Attorney-General (A-G) has been listed as the defendant.

Section 377A of the Penal Code criminalises acts of "gross indecency" between men and the offence carries up to a two-year jail term.

In court documents seen by The Straits Times, Dr Tan stated that Section 377A is inconsistent with Article 9 of the Constitution, which states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law. He also stated that Section 377A is inconsistent with Article 12, which states that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to its equal protection, and Article 14, which states that every citizen of Singapore has the right to freedom of speech and expression.

A pre-trial conference has been set for Oct 8.

The case will challenge the Court of Appeal's previous ruling in 2014 that Section 377A is constitutional. The three-judge Court of Appeal had then rejected two separate challenges by Mr Tan Eng Hong, who was also represented then by Mr Ravi, and a gay couple, Mr Gary Lim and Mr Kenneth Chee. Read more via Straits Times