Amos Yee back in court over offensive videos

Callisto · Aug 18, 2016

Amos Yee back in court over offensive videos

Yee indicated that he wanted to plead guilty just before the first witness was called. His case for Criminal Case Resolution is fixed for today.

Published 41 min ago

Blogger, who at first wanted to contest eight charges, opts to undergo Criminal Case Resolution instead

Amir Hussain

Teenage blogger Amos Yee was back in court yesterday to face six charges of intending to wound the feelings of Muslims or Christians and two of failing to report to the Jurong Police Division for investigations.

Yee, 17, who does not have a lawyer, confirmed that he was contesting all eight charges - all of which relate to crimes allegedly committed between November last year and May this year.

He is said to have posted five offensive videos, some of which show him insulting the Bible and Quran.

Yee also said he wanted to cross- examine the prosecution's witnesses. But shortly after entering his plea, and before the first witness was called, he told District Judge Lim Tse Haw that he wanted "to take a certain course", legal parlance indicating that an accused person wishes to plead guilty.

Yee, who has had five pre-trial conferences with the prosecution since he was charged in May, said he recently found out about the Criminal Case Resolution (CCR) process. The CCR provides a neutral forum, facilitated by a senior judge, for parties to consider early resolution of criminal cases.

It aims to save resources by reducing the chances of an accused person pleading guilty on the day of the trial or once it has started.

Judge Lim fixed the case for a CCR to be held today.

Yee, dressed in an orange T-shirt and a pair of beige cargo trousers, was in court with his mother, Ms Mary Toh.

The prosecution had prepared seven witnesses, all police officers, to testify. On May 26, the day he was charged, Yee told District Judge Ronald Gwee he intended to claim trial.

Reports had been lodged over online remarks he made last year and the police issued a notice in December ordering Yee to report for investigations.

But he allegedly failed to do so. He left the country shortly after and remained overseas until April.

When he returned, he was served with a Magistrate's order to report again at Jurong Police Division, but he purportedly did not comply.

On May 11, he was arrested and then bailed out of police custody by his mother.

The maximum punishment for deliberately wounding the religious feelings of any person is three years' jail and a fine; For failing to present oneself pursuant to a notice or order from a public servant, it is one month's jail and a $1,500 fine.

Yee first came to the attention of the authorities when he uploaded an expletive-laden video on March 27 last year, four days after the death of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. Yee later also posted an obscene image on his blog.

He was convicted on May 12 last year and sentenced on July 6 to four weeks' jail. He was released the same day as the punishment was backdated to include his time in remand. He had spent about 50 days in prison after repeatedly breaching bail conditions.

butoh6050 · Aug 18, 2016

With the current masturbation of schooling, Amos takes a back seat.
Guess nobody wants to associate with him.

Callisto · Aug 19, 2016

Amos Yee's case sent back for trial to continue

Yee arriving at the courthouse yesterday. He had allegedly posted a photo and five videos, some of which show him insulting the Bible and the Quran.ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

Published 3 hours ago

No resolution at the session to resolve case without trial, which was requested by accused

Amir Hussain

Teen blogger Amos Yee's trial resumed yesterday, a day after it was adjourned even before the first prosecution witness was called.

On Wednesday, the trial was adjourned after the case was sent, at Yee's request, for a criminal case resolution (CCR), an avenue for resolving a case without trial.

Yee, 17, had at first opted to contest all his eight charges, including six for intending to wound the feelings of Muslims or Christians. He had allegedly posted a photo and five videos, some of which show him insulting the Bible and the Quran.

The teen, who has no lawyer, had also said he wanted to cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses.

But shortly after the start of the trial on Wednesday, he told District Judge Lim Tse Haw that he wanted "to take a certain course", which is legal parlance indicating that he was considering pleading guilty.

The judge fixed the case for a CCR, in which the accused can ask for an indication of his possible sentences. But with no resolution at the closed-door CCR session yesterday, the case was sent back for the trial to continue.

At the start of yesterday's hearing, Yee asked for a two-month adjournment, saying he had received the list of witnesses and exhibits only on Wednesday and needed time to prepare his case. Judge Lim did not accede to the request, but said he would give Yee time to prepare questions for cross-examination later.

The case was adjourned - after two witnesses took the stand - for the next tranche of the trial, fixed for next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yee, who sat beside his mother Mary Toh, who is helping him conduct his defence, did not deny that he had made the photo and videos.

Two police technology forensic officers, who had gathered information relating to the charges, took the witness stand yesterday. One had extracted data from more than 100 webpages, such as blogs and social media sites.

Yee had no questions for the officer, apart from asking why the webpages were relevant to his charges.

The officer said he had acted on instructions from an investigator, who will testify at a later date.

Besides the six charges, Yee faces two of failing to report to Jurong Police Division for investigations.

Reports were lodged over online remarks that Yee made last year, and the police issued a notice last December ordering him to report for investigations. But he allegedly failed to do so, leaving the country shortly after and returning only in April.

When he returned, he was served with a magistrate's order to report again at Jurong Police Division, but he purportedly did not comply.

On May 11, he was arrested and then bailed out by his mother.

The prosecution will call a total of seven witnesses, all police officers.

The maximum penalty for deliberately wounding the religious feelings of any person is three years' jail and a fine; for failing to present oneself pursuant to a notice or order from a public servant, it is one month's jail and a $1,500 fine.

Yee uploaded an expletive-laden video days after the death of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew last year. He was sentenced in July last year to four weeks' jail.

Kamuro · Aug 25, 2016

Amos Yee enters guilty plea on three more charges

Published 8 min ago
Amir Hussain

A day after he reversed a decision to stand trial and pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to show up at a police station, teen blogger Amos Yee again threw in the towel and admitted to three counts of wounding religious feelings.

Yesterday, the fourth day of his trial, Yee, 17, pleaded guilty to uploading one Facebook post and one blog post that were insulting to Muslims, and another video that Christians would have found offensive. The crimes were committed between November last year and April this year. In the blog post, dated Dec 17, Yee also wrote: "I'm pretty disappointed when Christians and Muslims claim that they are not offended by my comments."

The maximum penalty for each of the three charges is three years' jail and a fine. Principal District Judge Ong Hian Sun will sentence Yee for the crimes at a later date.

Yee's admission of guilt yesterday leaves him with three charges which he is still contesting. He is alleged to have posted one photo and two videos online, between April and May, with the intention of wounding the feelings of Muslims.

The fifth day of the trial, to be heard before District Judge Lim Tse Haw, will be held at a later date. Yee's defence will be called once the prosecution closes its case.

On the first day of the trial last Wednesday, Yee, who does not have a lawyer, confirmed he was contesting all eight charges but told the judge later the same day that he was considering pleading guilty.

After a failed attempt at resolving the case without a trial, the hearing resumed last Thursday, only for Yee to ask, unsuccessfully, for a two-month adjournment.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to two charges of not showing up at the police station. The maximum penalty for each of charge is one month's jail and a $1,500 fine.

winnipegjets · Aug 25, 2016

Kamuro said:
Amos Yee enters guilty plea on three more charges

Published 8 min ago
Amir Hussain

A day after he reversed a decision to stand trial and pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to show up at a police station, teen blogger Amos Yee again threw in the towel and admitted to three counts of wounding religious feelings.

Yesterday, the fourth day of his trial, Yee, 17, pleaded guilty to uploading one Facebook post and one blog post that were insulting to Muslims, and another video that Christians would have found offensive. The crimes were committed between November last year and April this year. In the blog post, dated Dec 17, Yee also wrote: "I'm pretty disappointed when Christians and Muslims claim that they are not offended by my comments."

The maximum penalty for each of the three charges is three years' jail and a fine. Principal District Judge Ong Hian Sun will sentence Yee for the crimes at a later date.

Yee's admission of guilt yesterday leaves him with three charges which he is still contesting. He is alleged to have posted one photo and two videos online, between April and May, with the intention of wounding the feelings of Muslims.

The fifth day of the trial, to be heard before District Judge Lim Tse Haw, will be held at a later date. Yee's defence will be called once the prosecution closes its case.

On the first day of the trial last Wednesday, Yee, who does not have a lawyer, confirmed he was contesting all eight charges but told the judge later the same day that he was considering pleading guilty.

After a failed attempt at resolving the case without a trial, the hearing resumed last Thursday, only for Yee to ask, unsuccessfully, for a two-month adjournment.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to two charges of not showing up at the police station. The maximum penalty for each of charge is one month's jail and a $1,500 fine.

If the PAP has guts, it should sentence Amos to 20 years, the maximum time for each charge, running consecutively. That would scare the hell out of every critic.

Callisto · Sep 29, 2016

Amos Yee pleads guilty to 3 charges

Teen blogger Amos Yee arrives with his mother at the State Courts in Singapore on Sept 28, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

Published 5 hours ago
Amir Hussain

Teenage blogger Amos Yee has again thrown in the towel on charges he is facing, pleading guilty yesterday to three counts of wounding religious feelings.

The 17-year-old admitted putting a photo and two videos online, between April 17 and May 19, with the intention of wounding Muslim feelings.

Yee's admission of guilt marks the end of his trial, which began last month. His defence had yet to be called during the four-day trial, in which he represented himself.

He had originally denied all eight charges that he faced - two for failing to turn up at a police station and six for wounding religious feelings.

However, on the third day of the trial, on Aug 23, Yee pleaded guilty to two charges.

He had failed to show up at Jurong Police Division at 9am on Dec 14 last year, despite a police officer's notice. He also did not turn up at the same place at 9am on May 10, in spite of a magistrate's order.

The maximum penalty for each of these charges is one month's jail and a $1,500 fine.

On the fourth day of the trial, on Aug 24, Yee pleaded guilty to three more charges.

He had made a Facebook post and a blog post, which wounded Muslim feelings. He had also posted a video online, which wounded Christian feelings. These crimes were committed between November last year and April this year. The maximum penalty for each charge of intending to wound religious feelings is three years' jail and a fine.

The prosecution and defence lawyer N. Kanagavijayan will argue for an appropriate sentence before Principal District Judge Ong Hian Sun today.

Yee first came to the attention of the authorities when he uploaded an expletive-laden video on March 27 last year, four days after the death of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. He later also posted an obscene image on his blog.

He was convicted on May 12 last year, and sentenced on July 6 to four weeks' jail. He was released the same day as the punishment was backdated to include his time in remand. He had spent about 50 days in prison after repeatedly breaching bail conditions.

red amoeba · Sep 29, 2016

What's w the long locks? Trying to look like his mum or Jesus ?

Callisto · Oct 1, 2016

Amos Yee jailed 6 weeks, fined $2k

Yee (left) posted an expletive-laden video on the Internet which aimed to hurt the feelings of Muslims.

Photo: The Straits Times

Amir Hussain
Friday, Sep 30, 2016

Four months after he was given a prison sentence for making remarks that were derogatory and offensive to Christians in an online video, teenage blogger Amos Yee posted an expletive-laden video on the Internet which aimed to hurt the feelings of Muslims.

Yesterday - 15 months after he was given the earlier four-week jail term - Yee was again sentenced to jail for wounding religious feelings.

The 17-year-old was given six weeks' jail and fined $2,000 in total for eight charges - two for failing to turn up at a police station and six for intending to wound the feelings of Muslims and/or Christians.

Principal District Judge Ong Hian Sun said he found Yee "not lacking in his mental capacity to make rational choices".

But the judge said: "(Yee) has, on several occasions, deliberately elected to do harm by using offensive and insulting words and profane gestures to hurt the feelings of Christians and Muslims. His contemptuous and irreverent remarks have the tendency to generate social unrest and undermine the religious harmony in our society."

If Yee does not pay his fine, he will have to spend another 10 days in jail. He will start his sentence on Oct 13.

The prosecution had sought six weeks' jail and a $2,000 fine in total, while Yee's lawyer had asked for four weeks' jail and a $1,000 fine, in default five days' jail.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Hon Yi said: "This case is about an accused person who, even after a previous brush with the law for a similar offence, deliberately upped the ante by escalating the offensiveness of the material which he created.

"In sentencing (Yee), this court should send a clear message that acts which impugn the racial and religious harmony of this country will not be tolerated."

Defence lawyer N. Kanagavijayan said: "(Yee) admits that he does not possess any religious, scholastic and/or intellectual ability to discuss religion.

"He admits that his contemptuous and vituperative language that he had used... shows his shallowness of his thoughts in respect of both Christianity and Islam."

On Wednesday, Yee pleaded guilty to three charges that he had originally denied. He uploaded a photo and two videos online, between April 17 and May 19, with the intention of wounding Muslim feelings.

The admission of guilt marked the end of his trial, which began last month on all eight charges. His defence had still to be called during the four-day trial.

Yee first admitted to two of the charges on the third day of the trial, on Aug 23. He had failed to show up at Jurong Police Division at 9am on Dec 14 last year, despite a police officer's notice. He also did not turn up at the same place at 9am on May 10, in spite of a magistrate's order.

He admitted to three more charges on the fourth day of the trial, on Aug 24. He had made one Facebook post and one blog post, which intended to wound Muslim feelings. He also admitted posting a video online, which intended to wound Christian feelings. These crimes were committed between November last year and April this year.

Yee first came to the attention of the authorities when he uploaded an expletive-laden video on March 27 last year, four days after the death of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Yee later also posted an obscene image on his blog.

He was convicted on May 12 last year, and sentenced on July 6 to four weeks' jail. He was released the same day as the punishment was backdated to include his time in remand. He had spent about 50 days in prison after repeatedly breaching bail conditions.

For his two counts of failing to turn up at Jurong Police Division, Yee could have been jailed for one month and fined $1,500 per charge.

For his six counts of intending to wound religious feelings, he could have been jailed for three years and fined per charge.

[email protected]

Amos Yee back in court over offensive videos

Callisto

Alfrescian

butoh6050

Alfrescian

Callisto

Alfrescian

Kamuro

Alfrescian

winnipegjets

Alfrescian (Inf)

Callisto

Alfrescian

red amoeba

Alfrescian (Inf)

Callisto

Alfrescian

Similar threads