Singapore | Authorities send teenage blogger Amos Yee to mental institute

Amos Yee

Teenage blogger Amos Yee will be remanded for two weeks at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for an assessment on his suitability for a mandatory treatment order (MTO), after it was found that he could have autism spectrum disorder, the Singapore-based Today newspaper reported.
According to the daily, Yee’s lawyer Alfred Dodwell also submitted to the court an undertaking by the sixteen-year-old to privatize his offending postings on social media and not repost or circulate them.
Yee was convicted on two charges over an online video he posted that was critical of Christianity and the nation’s late founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, after a two-day trial last month.
The teenager has been remanded in Changi Prison since June 2 for an assessment on whether he is suitable for reformative training, after he rejected the option of probation, according to Today.
Yesterday the court heard that Yee was deemed physically and mentally suitable for reformative training, but the newspaper stated that District Judge Jasvender Kaur noted the report indicated a possibility of him suffering from autism spectrum disorder. She called for an assessment of his suitability for an MTO.
Under Singapore law, an MTO requires an offender suffering from psychiatric conditions to undergo treatment in lieu of imprisonment. According to the paper, neither the prosecution nor the defense objected to the district judge’s call for an assessment of the teenager’s suitability. Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun told the court that the prosecution had suggested in two previous occasions he be “assessed by the relevant experts”.
Mr Dodwell, as quoted by Today, said later: “Amos did not object to being assessed, and so we did not challenge it in court.”
Yesterday, the United Nations Human Rights Office for South-east Asia called on Singapore’s government to review Yee’s conviction, and asked that prosecutors drop their demand for reformative training.
Among those in the fully packed courtroom yesterday were the blogger’s parents and civil activist Teo Soh Lung.
His mother, Ms Mary Toh, donned a white T-shirt with a #FreeAmosYee message showing a picture of the teenager in a yellow banana submarine.
Speaking to the media after the brief hearing yesterday, his father, Mr Alphonsus Yee, noted that there was speculation online about Amos’ mental health. But Mr Yee added that previous medical check-ups had not revealed that his son might have any disorder.