Police arrest Amos Yee over anti-Lee Kuan Yew video
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Amos Yee uploaded eight-minute video Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead! and claimed others were scared to speak out against late founding prime minister
Police in Singapore have arrested a 17-year-old who posted a video highly critical of Singapore’s late founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, according to local reports.
Numerous police reports had been lodged against Amos Yee since he first uploaded the eight-minute video, Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead!, on 27 March.
“Lee Kuan Yew was a horrible person, because everyone is scared,” Yee said in the video. “Everyone is afraid if they say something like that, they might get into trouble … which, give Lee Kuan Yew credit, that was primarily the impact of his legacy. But I’m not afraid.”
He also likened Lee to Jesus Christ, saying that they “are both power-hungry and malicious but deceive others into thinking they are both compassionate and kind”.
Police confirmed on Monday to the Guardian that a 17-year-old male Singaporean had been arrested.
Lawyer Chia Boon Teck, who lodged one of the police reports against Yee, said: “The individual had said many things against Mr Lee and the government that are defamatory under the penal code as well as in violation of the sedition act. His utterances against Christians also amounted to a ‘deliberate intent to wound religious feelings’ under the penal code
“There is a limit to freedom of speech. If the line separating freedom and offence is crossed, the person will have to face the consequences,” he added. Yee has since taken down the video, but it has been re-uploaded by others on YouTube.
Lee died in the early hours of 23 March from severe pneumonia in hospital, where he was on mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit.
Lee’s death led to a seven-day period of national mourning, with some standing in hours-long queues to pay their respects while his body was lying in state.
The mourning period has caused controversy – while many laud him for his contributions to building Singaporeinto a wealthy city state, others have criticised his rule as one where the media was controlled and dissent was crushed.
For some, the lodging of police reports and subsequent arrest of Yee is a sign that the suppression of free speech during Lee’s time in power has continued as a part of governance in Singapore.
Independent filmmaker Martyn See – who has seen his work banned in Singapore – told the Guardian: “The People’s Action party has only known to counter dissent by crushing it. It’s in the DNA of all authoritarian systems.
“But I do not foresee this as sustainable, as its current leaders will find it hard to justify such a knuckleduster approach without the moral authority of a Lee Kuan Yew.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/30/singapore-police-arrest-17-year-old-amos-yee-critical-lee-kuan-yew-video
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orh bee
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orh bee
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Black rice? Hahahaha .......
I admire your guts, Amos.......
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our younger generation has shown much maturity during this difficult time of our nation
only to be humongously spoiled by one dick
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hor yi si no matter what they say
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More interested to find out response from amos' parents.
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大概他爸爸没有教他
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Originally posted by SJS6638:
More interested to find out response from amos' parents.
Today newspaper report his mum already gave up control on him.
She was one of them who called the cops on him.
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small cow don't know what is Tiger
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on bail. mom looks like she's gonna beat the hell out of him in the photos on papers.
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Boy in puberty in rebellious stage. Probably he will regret what he did when grow up.
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Originally posted by Juze.James:
on bail. mom looks like she's gonna beat the hell out of him in the photos on papers.
she should have.
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if he is not remorseful after what he did to his mother
i dont know what to say
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Amos looks like gal. If dunno his name, I would think he is a gal.
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He is an immature attention seeking teenager. We all make mistakes, he learned it the hard way. Do give him a second chance, and may the mature people around him guide him into the right path! What he really needs is love and guidance, just as Tosh mentioned.
therealsingapore.com/content/ah-boys-men-star-tosh-zhang-amos-yee-just-needs-proper-guidance-and-love
Do sign this pledge if you feel the same.
crowdcauses.com/cause/cause_detail/pledge-for-responsible-speech-and-proper-guidance-for-amos-yee -
49-year-old man arrested in relation to Amos Yee assault
SINGAPORE — A 49-year-old man has been arrested in relation to a case yesterday where Amos Yee received a dramatic slap in the face by a stranger as he made his way to his court hearing, said the Singapore Police Force in a media release today (May 1).
Investigations are still ongoing, the statement added.-- TODAY
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Popular bookstore apologises for tweet on Amos Yee slapping incident
SINGAPORE - Local retailer Popular bookstore has apologised for a tweet which poked fun at teen blogger Amos Yee, who was slapped by a man outside the State Courts on Thursday.
The tweet, posted on Thursday, read "Sorry you got slapped. Here, have some cookies on us! #FamousAmos for #AmosYee #Hi5toyourface." It was posted with a picture of Famous Amos cookies.
Popular bookstore deleted the tweet on the same day and posted a new one which said: "Spread Love, Not Hate. #AmosYee #saynotoviolence", with a bag of Famous Amos cookies.
On Friday, the bookstore tweeted: "It was a mistake that we accept and sincerely apologise for. We promise that we won't do it again. #saynotoviolence."
- ST
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Why would someone go slapped this boy in public? Asking for trouble...
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kudos to Popular, should stick with the tweet
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Singapore teen guilty of insulting Christians in video blog
SINGAPORE (AP) — Teen blogger Amos Yee was found guilty Tuesday of insulting Christians in a video monologue and of distributing an obscene image of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew with former British leader Margaret Thatcher.
The 16-year-old Yee had faced three years in jail but instead will be put on probation. He was released on a bail of 10,000 Singapore dollars ($7,500) and probation officers will now interview him and his parents to determine what kind of probation he would receive and how long it would last. The result would be announced June 2.
Asked how he felt about the verdict, Yee — who was wearing a navy T-shirt and khaki shorts — told reporters: "I don't know. I can't decide. I don't know if I should celebrate my release or mourn my sentence."
District Judge Jasvendar Kaur rejected Yee's defense that he did not intend to insult Christians. She also noted she was concerned by the effect on teenagers that the image of the faces of the two leaders superimposed on the drawing of two figures engaged in sexual activity would have.
"The question I had to ask myself was: would any right-thinking parent or teacher approve of their children or students seeing it at home or in the school library? The answer is no... (They would register their) strongest disapproval," she said.
Yee posted the video blog laced with expletives as Singapore was mourning Lee's death on March 23. In the eight-minute clip that he posted on YouTube, Yee said Lee and Jesus Christ were "both power-hungry and malicious," among other derogatory comments mostly targeting Lee.
Such open criticism and lampooning of leaders is rarely seen in Singapore, where laws are strictly enforced. The government of the multiethnic city-state says the enforcement of the letter of the law is necessary to maintain order and stability among the various races and religions.
Kaur also said prosecutors had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Yee had intended to denigrate both Lee and Jesus Christ. She added that the lack of reactions to his comments stemmed from the fact that they were "not made by someone who is learned or who exerts special influence," but instead by a person who "plainly has a lot of growing up to do."
As part of the guilty verdict, Yee will have to remove the two posts.
Yee's parents said they will discuss with lawyers whether to appeal.
According to court documents shown to The Associated Press, Yee told police that he was raised Catholic but turned atheist by mid-2013.
Arrested and charged in March, he was bailed out by a stranger, then defied one of his bail conditions — refraining from posting any public material online — and jailed again.
When he re-entered custody on April 30, Yee was slapped in the face by a stranger outside court. The 49-year-old man, who was charged with voluntarily causing hurt, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, and will spend three weeks in prison. He faced up to two years in jail.
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Sinkingpore getting more and more famous and attention internationally. Bravo!
Some daft sinkies posted comments are published on BBC article about Amos. So siasuay!
Human Rights Watch also said something about case of Amos. Sg ranks one of the lowest on human rights. Now I suppose will sink further. Good job, dafties! Hahaha. It is because of dafties 60% that sg is in the present plight.
Monitor people on which websites they surf and blocking them surfing some websites are so despicable, distasteful, high-handed and tells how extremely insecure they are! We don't live in stone age. Doing all these does not reflect sg is first world. Oops, think we are third world now with increasing number of people from third world. Hahaha .......
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32604122
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Amos Yee admits ex-bailor 'molest' claim untrue
BARELY a day after he was convicted and released on bail, teenage blogger Amos Yee alleged that he had been "molested" by Vincent Law, the family and youth counsellor who had stepped forward to bail him out.
Mr Law called the allegation "false". But Yee later said in the evening that Mr Law "didn't really molest me".
At 2.40pm yesterday, Yee made a lengthy post on Facebook inviting the media to "catch" him when he exited Pasir Panjang MRT Station between 3pm and 4pm. Up until 5.15pm, there was no sign of the teenager.
The 16-year-old wrote that if they did, he would "clear the air" and "reveal that little tidbit of information on how (his) ex-bailor, Vincent Law, molested (him)".
But Yee said in a Facebook post at about 9.40pm last night that it was actually a ruse.
When contacted on Yee's initial allegation, Mr Law told The Straits Times: "I deny this very serious and false allegation that he has made. I have no idea why he would say that."
Yee's lawyer Alfred Dodwell said that the post took him by surprise. "He's never communicated this to me or my team."
He said he had not spoken with the teenager since they parted ways on Tuesday, when Yee was found guilty of uploading an obscene image and making remarks intended to hurt the feelings of Christians, after a two-day trial last week.
Yee has since taken down the offensive YouTube video and post from his blog that got him convicted.
The blogger was charged in court on March 31, four days after uploading the video criticising the late Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding prime minister. A day after he put up the video, he uploaded an image illustrating two people having sex, on which he superimposed the faces of Mr Lee and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Yee will be sentenced on June 2, pending the outcome of a probation report.
The court reduced the bail sum to $10,000 on Tuesday, with no conditions attached. The previous bail amount was $30,000 and as part of his bail terms, Yee was not allowed to post anything online.
On Tuesday evening, Yee told reporters that he wanted to apply for a restraining order to prevent his father, computer engineer Alphonsus Yee, from getting close to him.
Mr Yee, who was present when his son said this, looked calm, Lianhe Wanbao reported yesterday.
Asked why he wanted to take such action against his father, Yee said he would give his reason in an update on his blog.
Mr Yee later told reporters he did not know why his relationship with his son had turned cold. But he said he would not blame his son for applying for a restraining order against him.
"Let him say what he wants to say and let his actions speak for themselves. I've accepted that he's that kind of child. The important thing now is to ensure that he gets proper help," he said.