Singaporean Amos Yee re-arrested in the US, barely a month after parole release

SINGAPORE: Amos Yee, a former YouTuber and activist from Singapore, has once again been taken into custody in the United States, barely a month following his early release on parole during his jail term.

As reported by Singapore’s media outlets, the victim notification network informed on Wednesday (8 Nov) Singapore time that the 25-year-old Yee was placed under the custody and control of the Illinois Department of Corrections on Tuesday.

According to the notification, he was held at the Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum security prison located in Crest Hill, Illinois.

On 23 Oct, Amos Yee published a blog post titled “Amos Yee’s Update after 3 Years in American Prison“.

In this post, he shared that he received assistance from the Illinois-based company, ‘NewDay Apartments,’ which specializes in aiding sex offenders to find employment and accommodation.

With their help, he secured a residence in Waukegan, Illinois, where he currently resides with two other individuals who are also registered as sex offenders.

“I’ve got a device locked onto my leg to track my movement, I’m only allowed out of the house from 8am to 8pm until my parole ends in 8th Oct 2026 (subject to early release for good behavior),” he added.

However, in his blog, Amos Yee defended that he never manipulated the victim and controversially claimed his support for paedophilia.

He then wrote, “Frankly if I develop another close relationship with someone underage that I’m sexually attracted to, I’d break the law again, and do something sexual with that kid.”

Intention to return to Singapore

In his discussion about the future, Yee expressed his intention to return to Singapore.

He acknowledged the possibility that his asylum status in the United States could be revoked, leading to potential deportation back to Singapore. Additionally, he mentioned being informed that there might be enough evidence to demonstrate that he was subjected to torture in Singapore, which could potentially allow him to stay in the US despite his criminal history.

Yee emphasized the compulsory 2.5 years of military training known as ‘National Service’ in Singapore, which is mandatory for male citizens aged 18 and older. He recognized that this obligation would be awaiting him upon his return to Singapore.

Furthermore, he acknowledged the potential risk of imprisonment for evading the military service, as well as the potential consequences of criticizing the government upon his return to Singapore.

Despite the potential challenges and risks, Yee remains steadfast in his belief that he can make a meaningful contribution to society by returning to Singapore.

He expressed his determination to continue his political activism through his writing and his readiness to face potential arrests in order to protest what he perceives as “unjust laws.”

“So, I’m going back home. Even if by some chance the Singapore Government chooses to ignore me and doesn’t imprison me for escaping the military, I’ll definitely find other ways to get arrested: writing critical posts, conducting political gatherings,  conducting illegal public protests, the opportunities are endless.”

In another post published on 5 November, Amos Yee listed ‘six impressive things’ he wanted to do, including creating an organically popular website “make ‘defending Pedophiles’ popular”, and “make illegal public protests in Singapore popular”.

Amos Yee sentenced in 2021 following his guilty plea to charges of grooming and possessing child pornography

Amos Yee, 20 at the time, was sentenced on 3 December 2021, following his guilty plea to charges of grooming and possessing child pornography.

Sixteen other charges were dropped as part of a plea deal that Yee had accepted. The court retroactively applied the jail term to his arrest in October 2020.

During previous court proceedings, it was revealed that Yee had initiated an “online courtship” with the 14-year-old victim in February 2019.

Despite the victim’s age disclosure, Yee persistently solicited her for nude photographs and engaged in roleplay and “sexual fantasies” until July 2019, utilizing WhatsApp to manipulate and entice her. Subsequently, he distributed the victim’s images online.

US marshals arrested Yee at his residence in Chicago’s Norwood Park East neighborhood in October 2020. He later pleaded guilty to the charges as part of an agreed plea deal.

Amos Yee’s video on Lee Kuan Yew results in dramatic arrest following multiple police reports in 2015

Amos Yee, at the age of 16, got into trouble in 2015 after making a video about late Lee Kuan Yew after his passing. Eight police officers turned up at his home to arrest him in cuffs after more than 20 police reports were filed against him.

While some were in response to Yee’s passing remarks on Christianity but majority of the reports centered around him disparaging the revered political leader.

Yee was detained in police custody and eventually found guilty of the charge of obscenity for having uploaded a picture of the late Singapore prime minister in a sexual depiction with the former British prime minister, the late Margaret Thatcher and a charge of wounding the feelings of Christians for remarks he made in a video of Mr Lee and the Christian religious icon, Jesus Christ, which he had uploaded onto Youtube.

He was released on the spot in May 2015 after his sentence was read, as he had already been detained past the sentenced term by the judge.

Yee subsequently got into trouble again for his blog and video posts in 2017, where he was sentenced to six weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to six charges for wounding the religious feelings of Christians and Muslims.

Granted asylum in US

After being detained in December 2016 by US officials for declaring himself as a visitor to the country despite applying for political asylum in US, a Chicago immigration judge concluded in March 2017 that the Singapore government persecuted Yee on account of his political opinion and that Yee is deserving of asylum as a matter of discretion.

Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security filed an appeal against the decision to grant Yee asylum, the court of appeal upheld the decision of the immigration judge in September 2017.