Amos Yee to be charged over alleged racial disharmony and indecent communications

Child sex offender, Amos Yee Pang Sang, will face charges in court on Tuesday (Aug 26) for publishing content that allegedly threatened religious harmony and contained indecent communications.

In a press release on Monday, the police said that they received multiple reports between April and July this year concerning online content published by Yee that was found to be "alarming and racially divisive".

In particular, Yee was found to have made two blog posts on April 7 and 11 earlier this year, in addition to a video on social media platform X where he stated that "the Malay-Muslim and Indian communities in Singapore were heavily discriminated against by the Chinese majority". 

He also made statements about the Government's treatment of these communities and suggested that they should protest against the Government, the police said.

Additionally, Yee made another blog post on June 30, allegedly stating that "children were capable of consenting to sexual acts" and advocated for the abolition of laws governing the age at which children can consent to such acts.

The police said this was in addition to three other videos uploaded by him in 2021, in which he made statements advocating sexual relationships involving children and the abolition of laws prohibiting child sexual abuse material.

Following investigations, 27-year-old Yee will be charged with offences for knowingly attempting to promote feelings of disharmony between different racial groups and for making indecent communications likely to cause alarm under the Protection from Harassment Act 2014.

If convicted for knowingly attempting to promote feelings of disharmony between different racial groups on grounds of race, Yee will face a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both.

If convicted on charges for making indecent communications likely to cause alarm, he will face a fine of up to $5,000.

The police have also issued an Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) Disabling Direction to take down the video on X on Aug 18, which X has complied with. The video is no longer available.

For the remaining offensive content, the police have issued Stop Communication Directions to Yee to remove the existing posts on his personal blog.

Yee also uploaded a video to X on Tuesday. The video was taken outside the Woodlands Police Division Headquarters, where he said he was handed the four charges.

"I was planning to get my sentence for escaping NS (national service) in a few weeks, but because I committed a new crime while on bail, they might just revoke my bail tomorrow," he said, adding that he might be sentenced to a jail term if convicted in court.

Concluding the video, he said: "If this is the last time we see each other, then, you know, take care."

Prior charges under the Enlistment Act

Prior to the charges handed to him on Tuesday, Yee faced three charges over his national service obligations for failing to report for pre-enlistment medical screening over nine years, from April 26, 2016, to March 19, 2026.

Yee is also accused of leaving Singapore without valid exit permits over two periods: From Dec 13, 2015, to April 19, 2016, and from Dec 15, 2016, to March 19, 2026.

During that time, Yee fled to the US and was granted asylum in 2018.

He was deported from the US on March 19, 2026 following his conviction by a grand jury in an Illinois court for solicitation and possession of child pornography.

He was subsequently arrested  by enlistment inspectors from the Central Manpower Base on March 20 upon his arrival at Changi Airport.

Yee has been out on $10,000 bail since March 26, and was set to plead guilty to the charges on Sept 7.

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