A Singaporean teenager faces up to three years in prison for criticising the nation’s late founder, Lee Kuan Yew, and Christianity in an online video.
At a court in Singapore on Tuesday, Yee was charged with three offences – two of insulting Christianity and the late statesman, and another of allegedly transmitting online an “obscene representation”, according to court documents.
In the eight-minute clip posted on YouTube, entitled Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead!, 16-year-old Amos Yee Pang Sang likened Lee, Singapore’s first prime minister, to Jesus Christ and said they were both “power-hungry and malicious but deceive others into thinking they are both compassionate and kind”.
“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.”
More than 20 police reports were lodged between 27 March and 29 March in response to the video, which has now been removed from his YouTube channel, though copies are still being circulated on social media.
He was arrested on Sunday under the country’s strict hate-speech laws, the same day as the elaborate state funeral for the 91-year-old founder of the nation.
Yee, who has previously made local headlines with his controversial and opinionated videos, could face up to three years in prison if found guilty. He was bailed but has been ordered to stop posting any content online pending the outcome of his case.
A Christian Singaporean launched a petition calling for the release of the teenager. In an appeal to the government of Singapore, it states: “Please release Amos Yee.
“We forgive him and desire he have a full life of contribution to his community ahead of him.” The petition has received more than 2,000 signatures in 24 hours.
Bob Dietz, Asia programme director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said: “The arrest of a young blogger for comments made in a video highlights the restrictive environment in which Singaporean journalists are forced to work.
“We call on authorities to release Amos Yee immediately and to undertake reform of Singapore’s outdated laws restricting the media.”
The Singaporean media is tightly controlled by the state-owned Media Development Agency. In 2015, the campaign group Reporters Without Borders’ world press freedom index ranked Singapore 153rd out of a total of 180 countries and territories.
Tan Chye Hee, Singapore police deputy commissioner, said: “Police take a stern view of acts that could threaten religious harmony in Singapore. Any person who uploads offensive content online with deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person will be firmly dealt with in accordance with the law.”
In recent years, many online bloggers and writers have been prosecuted for criticising the Singaporean government.
In 2008, a blogger, Gopalan Nair, was sentenced to three months in prison for insulting a high court judge. In a posting on his Singapore Dissident blog, Nair accused the judge of “prostituting herself ... by being nothing more than an employee of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his son [the current prime minister] and carrying out their orders.”
Two years later, Alan Shadrake, a British-born writer, was sentenced to six weeks in prison and paid a large fine after being found guilty of contempt of court.
His book Once a Jolly Hangman questioned the independence of Singapore’s legal system and its use of the death penalty.
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