Singaporean freed based on 鈥榩enis鈥 code
Print Edition
A SINGAPORE woman who lives as a man has been acquitted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl because the judge said the law on which the charges were based relates only to men with a penis.
Zunika Ahmad, 40, who is biologically a female but has passed herself as a man since her youth, pleaded guilty last year to six counts of sexually assaulting the minor using a sex toy and her fingers.
But in a landmark ruling on Tuesday, high court judge Kan Ting Chiu threw out the guilty plea and acquitted Zunika, saying the Penal Code provision under which she was charged applies only to males.
The ruling sparked strong reaction among women’s and gay rights activists.
“No matter the gender (of the assailant) or whether they have a particular body part does not make it any less traumatizing for the victim,” said Jolene Tan, a senior manager at the Association of Women for Action and Research.
Such discrimination is common for transgender people in Singapore who have not undergone a sex change, said Leow Yangfa, of Oogachaga, an organization that gives support and counselling to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community.
Zunika, who was living with two “wives,” was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment on the lesser charge of having a sexual relationship with a person aged under 16.
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