Police issue directions to take down offensive online posts allegedly made by Amos Yee
Amos Yee faces more jail time in Singapore as he will be charged over online posts he allegedly made earlier this year.
The posts were found to be “alarming and racially divisive”, as well as indecent, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a news release on Tuesday (25 Aug).
Source: Amos Yee on X
Amos Yee allegedly made online posts about Malay-Muslims & Indians
SPF said it conducted investigations after receiving several reports about Yee between April and July this year.
In two blog posts on 7 April and 11 April, as well as a video on X on 27 May, he allegedly discussed Singapore’s Malay-Muslim and Indian communities.
He claimed that they were “heavily discriminated against” by the Chinese majority, SPF noted, adding:
He also made statements about the Government’s treatment of these communities and suggested that they should protest against the Government.
Amos Yee allegedly made online posts regarding children & sexual acts
In another blog post on 30 June, Yee allegedly said that children were capable of consenting to sexual acts.
He also allegedly called for age of consent laws to be abolished, SPF said.
In three other videos he made, which were posted online in 2021, Yee allegedly advocated for sexual relationships involving children and the abolition of laws that prohibited child sexual abuse material.
Amos Yee to face multiple charges on 26 Aug
Yee will thus be charged in court on Wednesday (26 Aug), SPF said.
He will be slapped with multiple charges, including:
- Knowingly attempting to promote, on grounds of race, feelings of disharmony between different racial groups, under Section 298A(a) of the Penal Code 1871
- Making indecent communications likely to cause alarm under Section 4(1)(b) of the Protection from Harassment Act 2014 (POHA)
For promoting racial disharmony, he could be jailed for up to three years and/or fined.
For making an indecent communication likely to cause alarm, which is punishable under Section 4(2) of POHA, he could be fined up to S$5,000.
Police issue directions to remove online posts
SPF said it issued a disabling direction under the Online Criminal Harms Act on 18 Aug.
It instructed X to take down the aforementioned video, which is now no longer available as X has complied.
SPF also issued Stop Communication Directions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) to Yee, instructing him to remove the offending blog posts.
The police takes “a serious view” of acts that threaten racial and religious harmony in Singapore, as well as indecent communications, including those which advocate or promote sexual relationships involving children, it added.
Amos Yee already facing charges under Enlistment Act
Yee is already facing charges under the Enlistment Act for failing to report for pre-enlistment medical screening and remaining outside Singapore without a valid exit permit.
These relate to his departure for the United States in 2016, after which he was granted asylum.
But he was jailed in the US for possessing child pornography and grooming a minor, then deported back to Singapore in March after serving his sentence.
Amos Yee says he might spend more time in jail
Yee’s latest post on X saw him speaking about his latest charges while standing outside Woodlands Police Division HQ with his mother.
Source: Amos Yee on X
He said his mother had just bailed him out after he was served “four new charges”.
He is currently out on bail for “escaping national service” and was prepared to be sentenced in a few weeks, but his bail might be revoked because he committed a new crime while on bail, he claimed.
“I might just be sent to prison tomorrow,” he added.
He also maintained that he might now have to spend even more time in prison because of the new charges, but “it’s Amos Yee, he breaks the law, what do you expect?”
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Featured image adapted from @amosyeeishere on X and MS News.
