‘It’s overly rude’: Singaporean blogger Amos Yee regrets controversial posts as he seeks asylum in US
Yee was convicted of harassment and insulting a religious group for comments he made about late Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew and Christians
A Singaporean blogger who is seeking political asylum in the United States said on Friday he regretted inflammatory posts that landed him in jail twice in his home country.
“I told you, it is hate speech, it is overly rude, it isn’t good activism,” Yee said by telephone from the McHenry County Adult Correctional Facility in Illinois. “I completely regret making those videos.”
I told you, it is hate speech, it is overly rude, it isn’t good activism ... I completely regret making those videos
Yee’s posts, and subsequent trials and convictions in Singapore, have stirred debate in the conservative city-state over censorship and free speech. His trials were watched closely by rights groups as well as the United Nations.
Last year, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former Singaporean Premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee’s death. His sentence amounted to four weeks in jail.
In September, Yee was sentenced to six weeks in jail after pleading guilty to posting comments on the internet critical of Christianity and Islam.
Yee arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on December 16 and told US Customs officials he was seeking political asylum.