Leading Singaporeans criticise ‘harsh’ treatment of teenager Amos Yee over online comments

Prominent Singaporean intellectuals, artists and activists have criticised the government’s “harsh” treatment of a teenage boy behind online attacks on the late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the former leader’s son, the 77 signatories said they were “aware of the negative aspects” of 16-year-old Amos Yee’s pronouncements in a YouTube video and on his blog.

“Nonetheless, we are troubled by the State’s harsh reactions to them, including the prosecution’s request for reformative training lasting at least 18 months,” said the letter, which was also sent to the attorney general, education and interior ministers.

Yee was convicted in May on two criminal charges: wounding religious feelings in an expletive-laden video comparing Lee Kuan Yew to Jesus, and circulating an obscene cartoon of the former prime minister, who died in March.

He is due to appear in court on Monday following two weeks at the Institute of Mental Health after a judge had ordered psychiatric tests before he was sentenced.

A psychiatrist previously said Yee might have autism, though he was declared mentally and physically fit for an 18-month stint in a reform centre.