Teenage blogger Amos Yee was handed a four-week jail sentence today (July 6) but was released on the same day as his sentence was backdated to June 2, when he was already in remand.
But Amos could return to court again, as his lawyer Alfred Dodwell told the media he intends to appeal against Amos’ conviction and sentence for the two charges of posting an obscene image online and posting content intended to hurt the religious feelings of Christians.
When he was freed today, Amos’ demeanour differed sharply from during his previous few court appearances, where he flashed smiles readily for the media pack. Instead, Amos wore a frown on his face and kept his head bowed most of the time while being led away by his parents, Ms Mary Toh and Mr Alphonsus Yee.
Earlier, members of the public and international media queued for hours to attend the hearing and some broke out in cheers when Amos entered the courtroom.
In calling for the judge to impose a jail term of one day, the prosecution cited the “seismic shift” in Amos’ attitude in the time he has been held. Amos had voluntarily removed the offending materials that he had re-posted after his prosecution and had given the court a written undertaking not to re-post these. In contrast, during the course of criminal proceedings, Amos had repeatedly breached bail conditions.
Institute of Mental Health child psychiatrist Cai Yiming, who interviewed Amos, also reported that the teenager admitted to his guilt and has “realised what he has done was against the law and could disrupt social harmony”.
“We see this as no less than a significant repudiation of his previous posturing, and it is an important acknowledgment that he has finally accepted the gravity of what he had done and that he was or is willing now to make amends by undoing it,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun told the court.
“I think given that seismic shift in thinking and attitude, Your Honour, the prosecution would then be asking for a one-day term of imprisonment.”
The Attorney-General’s Chambers had previously argued against incarceration, saying it would not have a rehabilitative effect on Amos. It called for a probation term, but after Amos refused to cooperate, went on to argue for reformative training — a more severe sentencing option for offenders aged below 21 where they are kept in an institution for at least 18 months to undergo structured rehabilitation programmes, including foot drills and counselling.
Subsequently, the court sent him to be assessed for mandatory psychiatric treatment after it was found that he could have an autism spectrum disorder but Dr Cai said Amos did not suffer from any mental illness.