Statement on Amos Yee

19 APR 2017

Statement on Amos Yee

Statement by the Ministry of Law on the Decision Granting Asylum in the United States to Amos Yee

  1. On 24 March 2017, a United States immigration judge granted Amos Yee’s application for asylum in the United States. The Court’s decision appears to be based on a number of errors. These are set out in Annex A (0.2MB).

  2. The judge’s decision also seems to reflect a misunderstanding of the situation in Singapore. Singapore’s significant social and economic success within one generation, based on a strong commitment to the Rule of Law, are matters of general knowledge. Singapore’s rankings on independent, reputable international indices are set out in Annex B (0.04MB), and provide some perspective on Singapore.

  3. The US Court’s decision also conflated a legitimate difference in tolerance for offensive material with political persecution. Singapore prosecutes hate speech relating to race or religion. What is allowed in the US may be an offence in Singapore. For example, the burning of a Bible or Qur’an to make a public point would be an offence in Singapore. There are other countries that also differ from the US on issues relating to speech. For example, denying the Holocaust is an offence in parts of Western Europe, while presumably it would not be an offence in the US. More recently, there have been news reports that the police in England are investigating a newspaper columnist for comparing a football player of mixed race to a gorilla, and suggesting that he deserved a punch he received in a nightclub. Approaches differ on these matters.

Post-script: A subsequent incident in the US demonstrates the circumspection needed when it comes to public statements on divisive issues. The US Federal Communications Commission is investigating comedian Stephen Colbert for allegedly flouting its regulations against indecent content by making a crude sexual joke about US President Donald Trump on television. Colbert’s remarks attracted complaints from angry viewers who regarded the remarks as homophobic.

  1. We set out a summary of the facts relating to Amos Yee’s conviction, which will allow a better understanding of what happened.

  2. In March 2015, Yee posted a video on his YouTube channel. In that video, Yee described Christians as “…power hungry and malicious, but deceive others into thinking that they are compassionate and kind. Their impact and legacy will ultimately not last as more and more people find out that they are full of bull.” He also posted an image depicting two people engaging in anal intercourse. For these acts, Yee was charged with committing the offences of distributing obscene material (Section 292 of the Penal Code), and uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious or racial feelings (Section 298 of the Penal Code).

  3. A family and youth counsellor stepped forward to act as bailor for Yee, but was subsequently accused by Yee of molesting him. Yee then issued an apology stating that his allegation was untrue, only to later retract his apology.

  4. Yee was found guilty on the charges. The Prosecution recommended that Yee undergo probation instead of imprisonment.

  5. Yee, however, refused probation. According to him, probation was long, while jail time was short. Then, he chose jail.

  6. Consequently, in September 2015, Yee was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment. The court ordered the sentence to be backdated. Yee was released on the same day.

  7. In November 2015, Yee made offensive remarks against Islam and religions in general on his blog. Yee was issued notices to report to the police to assist with investigations into his remarks. Yee ignored these notices, and instead left Singapore.

  8. In April 2016, just before returning to Singapore, Yee published Facebook posts that read: “…the Islamics seem to have lots of sand in their vaginas too … But don’t mind them, they do after all follow a sky wizard and a pedophile prophet. What in the world is a ‘moderate muslim’? A f******g hypocrite that’s what! … With all due respect, Christians, you can shove that faith up your ass. Faith! Faith! I’d be damned at this retardation of humanity. F**k you, Christian shits.”

  9. For these acts, Yee was charged with failing to obey the police’s notices to him to assist in their investigations (Section 174 of the Penal Code), and for uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious or racial feelings (Section 298 of the Penal Code). In September 2016, Yee pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment and fined $2000.

  10. At the time of Yee’s release from prison in November 2016, Yee had for some time defaulted on a medical examination that he was required to take as a pre-enlistee in compulsory National Military Service (“NS”) in Singapore (all male citizens and permanent residents in Singapore must do NS). In November 2016, Yee was again served with an order to report for this medical examination.

  11. Yee did not comply with the order. In December 2016, Yee left Singapore the day before his reporting date for the medical examination, and sought political asylum in the US. Yee is an NS defaulter. Defaulting on one’s NS obligations is an offence in Singapore.

MINISTRY OF LAW
19 APRIL 2017

Last updated on 11 May 2017