Amos Yee gets fresh charges for indecent comments, promoting racial disharmony

Singaporean online commentator Amos Yee Pang Sang received four fresh charges on August 26, 2023, related to posts he made on race and children. This increases his total number of charges to seven, including three for allegedly avoiding National Service (NS). The charges stem from two blog posts in April where Yee allegedly promoted disharmony between racial and religious groups in Singapore.

He also faced charges for uploading a video discussing racial discrimination and suggesting protests from members of a certain race. Additionally, Yee was charged with indecent communication for posting an article titled "Why Sex with Babies is Bad" and making videos in 2021 titled "Free Speech for the Pedophile," "Why Child Pornography Should Be Legal," and "Why Pedophilia Is Alright."

In these videos, Yee identified himself as a "advocate" for child porn and baby porn. His lawyer, Mr Divanan Narkunan, indicated that the new charges were served recently and he was reviewing instructions. Bail was set at S$15,000, with conditions prohibiting Yee from posting anything online about his views on paedophilia or anything that might incite racial disharmony.

Yee appeared in court with his mother but did not speak during the proceedings. The videos were taken down by social media platform X upon police direction, and Yee was also ordered to remove the posts from his blog. Originally facing NS enlistment charges after being deported from the United States in March, Yee's hearing was postponed to a pre-trial conference on September 18.

NS defaulters can face up to three years in jail, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both per charge. For promoting racial disharmony, offenders can be imprisoned for up to three years, fined, or both. Indecent communication that is likely to cause alarm under the Protection from Harassment Act can result in a fine of up to S$5,000.