High Court dismisses Amos Yee’s challenge of bail conditions
Singapore’s High Court has dismissed 16-year-old blogger Amos Yee’s challenge of the conditions of his bail, according to The Straits Times.
He remains in remand.
Yee’s lawyer argued during the hearing that Yee should be allowed to post content online. Yee was barred from posting any material online until his case concludes.
Justice Tay Yong Kwang dismissed the argument and the bail conditions remain unchanged, with the bail set at $30,000.
The prosecution had offered to vary Yee’s bail conditions, as long as he agreed to continue seeing a psychiatrist.
His mother had brought him to see a psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health on 3 April but Yee refused to attend after two sessions.
As Yee refused to take up the prosecution's offer, the judge saw no reason to vary his bail conditions.
Yee’s mum, along with blogger Roy Ngerng, were among those present at the bail hearing.
Previously, Yee posted two entries on his blog, a day before his pre-trial conference at the State Courts on 30 April.
The posts are titled ‘‘The Ridiculous Terms of my Bail" and the other "My Abusive Father".
In the entries, he questioned the conditions of his bail, which “has absolutely nothing to do with my presence in court” and accused his father of being abusive. He then shared the blog posts on his Facebook.
As he refused to take down the posts, Yee was placed in remand, after his bailor, Vincent Law, discharged himself.
Yee was charged for multiple offences on 31 March, including deliberate intention to wound the religious or racial feelings of a person, circulating obscene material and for making abusive or insulting communication likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Yee’s trial is to be held on 7 and 8 May.
