Same-sex incest is legal in Singapore? 6 differences in M’sia incest law and abroad

Four cases of incest rape in KL and Putrajaya have roused media attention lately, including the “monster dad” from KL who was charged with 600 counts of sodomy, rape and sexual assault of his teenage daughter, and it even got picked up by international media… and there goes our Malaysian pride.

All in all, including one more in Sungai Petani, a total of 10 incest cases were reported within the span of 68 days. A full list is included at the bottom for reference. Every one of them had victims under the age of 18, and as young as seven.

YB Datuk Fatimah Abdullah—current Sarawak Minister of Welfare, Women and Community—was understandably concerned about the five recently reported cases of incest-rape that happened in her state, mentioned in two Facebook posts marked September 7.

With the exception of cousin marriage, incest is a punishable offence in Malaysia whether it is between consenting parties or not. But what is the law on incest like in other countries? We take a look at Singapore, UK, Australia, and some places where incest is surprisingly 100% legal.

1. Cousins can marry in Singapore

In Singapore, it is perfectly legal to date, seduce, and marry your first cousin, second cousin, or third, fourth whatever.

Under their laws, you only really can’t marry anyone on this list, but cousins are the only relatives not mentioned. We can only speculate why this exception was made… But like Iceland, Singapore is a small country.

However, unlike Iceland, Singapore has a diverse demographic of ethnic groups and a population of over 5.7 million people. Iceland is a monocultural society where every single bloodline within the last 1,200 years can be traced on a website called “The Book of Islanders“. Quite impressive.

UPDATE: In the first version of this article, we failed to mention the fact that cousin marriage is ALSO legal in Malaysia!

2. Incest is legal in several countries including China

In Brazil and Argentina, incest and marriage between adults is legal. In China, Russia, Thailand, and Spain, incest is also legal between adults but marriage is not. China used to have laws against incest, but everything was  changed during the communist takeover in 1949. (p43, click if you read German ) (click if you read Chinese)

The population of China is pretty big though, and many people don’t have siblings due to the one child policy that was in force from the 1970’s till 2015. With this in mind, the likelihood of recessive genes surfacing could be low, except for relationships between parent and child.

In contrast, the risk of recessive genes is higher in a country like Iceland, where the popoulation is so small and inter-related that they came up with an app (no joke) that helps you tell cousins and non-cousins apart when you go dating. Incestuous relationships and marriage is prohibited by law in Iceland. (click if you read icelandic)

3. In Australia incest is illegal but not illegal

In Australia, the federal law holds sex between consenting adults is not a matter of regulation, as long as it doesn’t involve anyone else. However, incest is a crime in every Australian jurisdiction, with varying punishments and definitions.

A judge in Australia said that incestuous relationships may soon become accepted in society by comparing it to homosexual relationships. Needless to say, his comments drew a lot of criticism from several parties, including the crown prosecutor (lawyer representing the state), who called it misogynistic and “completely disgraceful”.

4. Same-sex incest is legal in HK and Singapore

Under Hong Kong’s laws, incest is defined as sex between a man and his granddaughter, daughter, sister, half-sister, or mother, but only the man gets punished. Singapore takes the same definition except that in Singapore, both parties are considered guilty and punished.

But um… are they forgetting something? What about aunts, uncles, cousins, and incest between individuals of the same gender? They’re not mentioned anywhere in HK or even in Singapore legislature, which gives makes it technically-legal… We could only find this one case of a Singaporean convicted of incest.

Although, Man-to-man sexual relations are prohibited under Singaporean law. So that leaves lesbian incest in a legal loophole, which adds to the list of things that are surprisingly legal in the island well known to Malaysians for its strict anti-litter laws.

5. In UK, caretakers, foster or adoptive parents of a child can be guilty of incest

Incest used to be illegal in the UK for anyone who is related by blood, but a change of law in 2003 placed restrictions on those who are step-parents, step-siblings, foster or adoptive parents or lived in the same household while caring for, training, or supervising a child.

The UK does not allow consensual relationships between family members, even if they are adult. Yasmin Bahari, a lecturer in the Faculty of Shariah & Law in Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, said this about children who consent to incestuous relationships.

“Such reactions are often thought to be the result of under-age grooming or sex, and as such a 16 or 17-year-old, who has been dominated by an adult in the family, cannot properly consent.” – Yasmin Bahari’s blog

Prohibited sexual behaviour under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act also includes sexual touching as an offence. The UK law has one of most comprehensive definitions in regards to incest, as it believes:

 “It is the protection of children within the family rather than the incestuous nature of the relationship, which is important. That fact should be recognized by the criminal law. There should be an offence which punishes the illegal sexual behaviour within the family an adds an extra penalty for the abuse of trust.” – Yasmin Bahari’s blog

6. Under Malaysian law, incest is not incest if there’s no penetration involved

By comparison to UK statutes, Malaysian legislature adopts an odd way of describing incest:

“A person who has sexual intercourse with another person whose relationship to him or her is such that he or she is not permitted, under the law, religion, custom or usage applicable to him or her, to marry that other person.” – 376A of Act 574, Malaysian Penal Code

As we mentioned earlier, cousin-marriages are LEGAL in Malaysia. In fact, one of the Cilisos writers actually knew someone from high school who had parents that were cousins! Makes things easier around Chinese New Year doesn’t it? But less angpaos la…

Under this definition, sexual touching and molestation is not included. Our law that deals with rape has the same shortcoming leading to the infamous case of 60-year-old Bunya Jalong who made a 15-year old girl pregnant via semen on his finger, and yet was fully acquitted of rape charges by three judges. Thankfully, the new Sexual Offences Against Children Bill passed this year should help.

But on the other hand, if you suddenly discover that you are your partner are related, would you be arrested for incest in Malaysia? Actually no. The law (Section 376A) says that it is a valid legal defence if you were not aware of your familial relationship. But we suggest attending more family gatherings so you stay updated with who’s related or not related to you.

Incestuous relationships carry risks, and children should never be involved

Studies have consistently shown that incest between adults, even cousins, is not a good idea. There are a whole lot of recessive diseases that can develop in a child of incest, and it can also cause reduced fertility, lower birth rate, and greater risks of disabilities. However, it is unclear whether this is still relevant due to the modern availability of contraceptives.

Earlier, we mentioned that there were a lot of incest rape cases recently in Malaysia, and we didn’t have space to fit all the cases. But here they are:

1. 18 year old boy who raped two of his three sisters and molested all of them. They were aged eight, nine, and fourteen- July 24, 2017
2. 24-year-old man charged with sodomy and molestation of his two stepsons – July 24, 2017
3. A 12-year-old girl who was raped by her father, grandfather, and three cousins– July 29, 2017
4. The “monster dad” who was charged with 600 counts of sodomy, rape and sexual assault of his teenage daughter- Aug 10, 2017
5. A 26-year old mechanic in Putrajaya who took advantage of his 10 year old daughter, making her pregnant at the age of 14- Aug 16, 2017
6. Two teenage sisters (one pregnant) who were raped by their father, grandfather, and two uncles– Aug 25, 2017
7. 59 year old taxi driver who molested his stepdaughter while she was sleeping- Aug 29, 2017
8. A 49-year old man who molested and committed incest with his 15 year old daughter (statutory rape) – Sept 6, 2017
9. A 38-year-old man who allegedly raped his  daughter- Sept 6, 2017
10. A 53-year-old grandfather who allegedly raped his granddaughter after raping his own daughter. Her uncle is also accused. – Sept 7, 2017

In incest cases like these involving children, the perpetrators are often those who were tasked with protecting, and caring for the child. This makes the act of incest not only a physical violation, but also an abuse of familial trust and position that has lasting psychological effects on the child.

“These abusive relationships often reflect a long-term imbalance of power in the family, and a child who is brought up to think such behaviour is normal, may not realize the true nature of the activity for many years.” – Yasmin Bahari’s blog

In the end, whether your view of incest is that it’s immoral, or that it’s fine between consenting adults, just know that it’s definitely, definitely still illegal in Malaysia (except for cousins). Cousin marriage IS legal in Malaysia but we still wouldn’t recommend it based on the fact that it carries risks of birth defects and other disabilities.

[Correction] Previously we said not to approach your hot cousin, cos we still thought that was illegal but… (as several commenters pointed out) this has since been found to be incorrect.