(Image source from: TODAYonline)

Tommy Koh, one of Singapore's most influential diplomats saying it was time for the modern city-state to abandon "antiqued" legislation, called Tuesday for the revoke of a law criminalizing sex between men.

The legalization of homosexual sex in India has sparked fresh debate in Singapore, and a new legal challenge has been lodged against the city's anti-gay sex law.

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In Singapore, gay sex continues to exist as illegal under "Section 377A" of the penal code, inherited from the British colonial era, although it is seldom implemented.

A veteran diplomat and former ambassador to the United Nations and the United States Koh wrote in a column for the pro-government newspaper The Straits Times that the act should be abandoned.

"Section 377A is an antiquated law, not supported by science, and should be repealed," said Koh, an international law expert and ambassador at large in the foreign ministry.

The 80-year-old said Singapore is one of a minority of countries that still outlaw sodomy because the law was inherited from the old British penal code.

"For a country which embraces science and technology, it is surprising that, on this one aspect, the law has not been updated in light of the scientific evidence," he said.

Koh said the World Health Organization had removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, and while religious leaders consider sodomy a sin it should not be a crime.

Earlier in 2014, a challenge was brought against the law, which was the last time but the city-state's appeals court dismissed it, saying it was up to parliament to repeal the law.

The official attitude toward homosexuality remains conservative in Singapore, though affluent Singapore boasts a modern and vibrant culture. Yet, public assist for gay rights has been thriving, with thousands turning up in recent years for Singapore’s annual Pink Dot gay rights rally.

-Sowmya Sangam