HONG KONG GAY SEX BAN REJECTED

Two Hong Kong men have successfully appealed against a law which specifically banned gay sex in public, reports the Associated Press.

The two men had been arrested for “committing sodomy” in a car parked in an isolated public road at night.

According to the 1991 law, which bans gay public sex, under which they were charged, the men could have faced up to five years in prison. This was the first time anyone had been prosecuted under the legislation

The men appealed the charges in a lower court and won, but were taken to the Court of Final Appeal by the government in an attempt to uphold the law.

In its judgment, the court rejected the government’s appeal on the basis that the law “does not criminalize heterosexuals for the same or comparable conduct,” and specifically targets gays.