Singapore | Teen blogger Amos Yee free after sentencing

A Singapore teenager who was found guilty of wounding religious feelings will walk free after being sentenced to jail time already served, the BBC reported yesterday.
According to the UK-based news site, Amos Yee, 16, posted a video critical of the late PM Lee Kuan Yew days after his death in March, comparing him to Jesus Christ and disparaging both. He also posted an obscene cartoon of Lee and former UK PM Margaret Thatcher.
Yee’s lawyer said the teenager, who had pleaded not guilty, would appeal against both conviction and sentence, the BBC reported.
The court sentenced Yee to four weeks of imprisonment from 2 June, which means he can be released immediately having already spent 50 days in remand.
The broadcaster quoted Judge Jasvender Kaur as saying that the offences “were not serious in nature but not trivial either”.
Yee’s video, titled Lee Kuan Yew is Finally Dead!, was posted on 23 March. He subsequently posted an obscene cartoon of Lee and Thatcher on his blog in an apparent reference to their close political relationship.
Authorities arrested him after at least 30 people filed police reports.
Yee was charged with spreading obscene images, offending religious groups and harassment. The latter charge was dropped.
Singapore has strict hate speech laws particularly on race and religion. The video also came days after the death of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore, amid nationwide mourning.
The case sparked public debate in the city-state about censorship and the reaction by the government drew criticism from human rights groups.
Yee was facing a maximum penalty of three years in prison for wounding racial or religious feelings and three months for distributing an obscene drawing.