  The sight of many young couples kissing on trains and buses and in public places is not uncommon, judging by many online photos such as those posted on citizen-journalism website Stomp.
$ _9 K. }7 k1 K1 `5 m公仔箱論壇But for those who call for curbs on such public displays of affection, it is unclear if the law can do anything about them.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb& `8 y- P2 t+ s, A1 ]
Kissing and groping another person against their will is clearly against the law. But the law governing consensual intimate acts in public is a grey area.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。 H1 \3 a& E# ^4 u0 F3 c& p F j* r
In an e-mail reply to a member of the public who complained about public kissing last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the "general act of kissing would not typically be considered obscene or indecent".$ s# Y' o: p. }6 m& K
The law prohibits any "obscene" act in any public place that would cause annoyance to others. "Indecent" behaviour is prohibited in public places.
+ I- D' u7 X$ U3 A- |But the legal definition of obscene does not make reference to particular acts.公仔箱論壇/ r4 y$ a' d* C4 j
Rather, the Penal Code defines it as anything that tends to "deprave and corrupt" people who are likely to read, see or hear the obscene thing.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ G0 e' y4 O: {# ]( c
The legal definition of indecent is not explicitly stated but, like obscene, would have its boundaries set out by case law, said lawyer Adrian Wee from Characterist LLC.5 l2 _# G& N# l/ C8 u+ q- s, i1 z9 e
He said there would have to be exposure of private parts for an act to be considered "obscene" and therefore punishable under Singapore law.
, m: x8 }' } |+ K( L0 d7 G4 tos.tvboxnow.com"The law does not prescribe what is or is not obscene behaviour," he said.os.tvboxnow.com- F$ T0 u2 O' _8 D% R1 t
"Rather, the law gives a definition of obscene behaviour... centred around the effect that it would have on others who are exposed to that behaviour."
8 {0 }8 a$ A# y0 SHe added that legal practitioners have to refer to previous cases to interpret the law in such instances.
F+ s: u& s ^; M" nos.tvboxnow.comLawyer Chia Boon Teck from Chia Wong LLP said the point at which public kissing might be considered obscene or indecent is unknown, as "the law does not define the various stages of kissing". Still, public sex is illegal.
( o$ r& }$ v" GTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Assistant Professor James Patrick Williams from the Division of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University's School of Humanities and Social Sciences said it is impossible to objectively draw a line between what is obscene and what is not.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。/ F$ a8 F# H# ]6 O0 Z
"Boundaries themselves are not objective. In any given situation, what the group itself decides is appropriate or inappropriate generally defines the boundaries of decency," he said.
7 O6 g& A2 \% R, N2 p2 m+ \"It's not that kissing on the train is right or wrong. Kissing on the train is defined as right or wrong based on the passengers on the train."TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。4 q& d$ R, M. F$ B8 Y+ s& }, x2 E
Mr Wee clarified that the number of people who complain about such behaviour would not make it any more or less obscene. But it could serve as a factor to tip the balance in the police's decision to prosecute. |
發表於 2012-9-19 10:33 AM
| 
