Singapore authorities arrested 17-year-old YouTube blogger Amos Yee after he debuted an eight-minute video that criticized the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
“Lee Kuan Yew was a horrible person, because everyone is scared,” claimed Yee in the video. “Everyone is afraid if they say something like that, they might get into trouble… which, give Lee Kuan Yew credit, that was primarily the impact of his legacy. But I’m not afraid.”
Police received between 15-20 complaints about Yee. They also reported he published obscene graphics on his Facebook page and blog. The images were deleted on his page and his blog is now private.
“The individual had said many things against Mr. Lee and the government that are defamatory under the penal code as well as in violation of the sedition act,” explained lawyer Chia Boon Teck, who filed a complaint against Yee with the police. “His utterances against Christians also amounted to a ‘deliberate intent to wound religious feelings’ under the penal code. There is a limit to freedom of speech. If the line separating freedom and offence is crossed, the person will have to face the consequences.”
Yee removed the video on YouTube, but other users reloaded it onto their pages.
Lee Kuan Lew passed away on March 23 from pneumonia. His son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, ordered a week long mourning period for his father. Mourners took to the streets to watch his funeral procession on Sunday. His funeral took place at the University Cultural Center at the National University of Singapore. President Bill Clinton and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott were a few of the foreign dignitaries to attend the funeral.
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