Teen blogger Amos Yee Pang Sang was on Monday (Jul 6) sentenced to four weeks’ jail, backdated to Jun 2.
Yee was found guilty of two charges – one for making offensive or wounding remarks against Christianity and another for circulating obscene imagery. A third charge, for the teen blogger’s statements on the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in a YouTube video, was withdrawn.
Yee intends to appeal against the conviction, said his lawyer Alfred Dodwell.
“The journey here has been long and arduous, ridden with lots of obstacles and hurdles. We have somehow gotten here,” said Mr Dodwell. “We have confirmed with our client that he wants to appeal against the conviction.”
“Let’s not run away with the idea that just because he’s remorseful and stuff, that is in relation to the social context. Whether this was a crime or not, still remains a question we want to determine in High Court,” Mr Dodwell added.
The 16-year-old has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for the past two weeks to assess his suitability for a mandatory treatment order, after a doctor said that Yee may have autism-spectrum disorder.
Mr Dodwell on Sunday night confirmed reports that the blogger was in hospital. Yee has “not been eating well, perhaps loss of appetite or no appetite, understandably so and hence his blood sugar went down,” he said.
“I’ve not been told of a hunger strike,” added Mr Dodwell, referring to the blogger’s hospitalisation.
I understand #AmosYee is back in IMH after being warded last night. Yee to attend court at 2.30pm for likely sentencing @ChannelNewsAsia
— Leong Wai Kit (@leongwaikit) July 6, 2015
Yee had previously rejected the option of probation and a term in the Reformative Training Centre as a sentence, sticking to his original plea for a jail term
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
