Two men have filed appeals against a High Court decision to dismiss their legal challenges against the law criminalising sex between men.

Lawyers representing Mr Johnson Ong Ming, a disc jockey, and Dr Roy Tan, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activist, told The Straits Times yesterday that they had filed appeals in the Court of Appeal.

Dr Tan's lawyer, Mr M. Ravi of Carson Law Chambers, is appealing "against the whole of the decision" issued by Justice See Kee Oon on Monday, according to court papers.

The third plaintiff, Mr Bryan Choong, the former executive director of LGBT non-profit organisation Oogachaga, is planning to file his appeal soon, his lawyers said.

The trio had filed separate cases challenging the constitutionality of Section 377A of the Penal Code, a law that criminalises acts of "gross indecency" between men. It carries a jail term of up to two years.

In a 105-page written judgment, Justice See noted that a previous decision by the Court of Appeal in 2014, involving gay couple Lim Meng Suang and Kenneth Chee, remains binding.

"I am unable to agree that there are cogent reasons for a Singapore court to be able to depart from binding decisions of the highest court in the land," he had said in his judgment.

Justice See also said he had reached the same conclusions as the Court of Appeal even after taking into account new material put forth by the plaintiffs.

Ready4Repeal, a group behind a 2018 petition supporting the repeal of Section 377A, said in a statement on Monday that the judgment was "a bitter blow" to LGBT Singaporeans who "yearn to be treated as equals in their own country".

Lawyer Johannes Hadi, a co-author of the petition that garnered over 44,000 signatures, is a member of the legal team that represented Mr Ong.