Under Singapore law, married women are protected from rape by their own husbands.
A man who forces his wife to have sex with him can be guilty of an offense under Penal Code s 375(4) in certain circumstances stated below:
- Husband and wife are living apart –
- Under an interim judgment of divorce or nullity
- Under a judgment or decree of judicial separation
- Under a written separation agreement
- Husband and wife are living apart and proceedings have been commenced for divorce, nullity or judicial separation and have not been terminated or concluded
- There is a court injunction to the effect of restraining the husband from having sexual intercourse with his wife
- There is in force a Personal Protection Order or an Expedited Order made against the husband for the benefit of his wife or proceedings have been commenced for the protection order or expedited order and have not been terminated or concluded.
However, marital rape remains an exception to the offence of rape except in the cases stated above.
A man who forces his wife to have sex may still be charged for “voluntarily causing hurt”, or another less serious offence.
These lesser charges carry significantly less severe penalties.
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