The judge said the offences “were not serious in nature but not trivial either”, local media reported.
Advertisement
The case drew worldwide interest as an early indication of Singapore’s strict governance of online speech in the era following the death in March of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
He got three weeks for wounding religious feelings in a YouTube video that was laden with expletives and in which he compared Lee to Jesus. He also posted on his blog a lewd image in which the faces of Lee and late British politician Margaret Thatcher were superimposed.
The court was packed for the sentencing this afternoon and Some of Yee’s supporters clapped when he appeared in court.
An offense under Section 298 can carry a jail term of up to three years, a fine or both.
The case sparked public debate in the city-state about censorship and the reaction by the government drew criticism from human rights groups.
Jolovan Wham, a rights advocate who attended Monday’s court session, said activists were “happy” that Yee has been freed.
The rally was organised by Community Action Network, a group of individuals describing themselves as “concerned about freedom of expression in Singapore”. “It’s about the abuse of these freedoms”.
Lee’s lawyer has said that he intends to appeal the verdict. Prosecutors ultimately dropped their request for a lengthy period of reformative training after Yee put in writing that he would take down the video and image and never re-post them – though Yee has violated previous pledges to do so.
They noted the teenager had now removed from the internet the offending materials and that he had told a psychiatrist he “would admit to his guilt and promised not to reoffend”.
“Under our laws, lines are drawn against acts that deliberately wound religious feelings and against the publication of images that have a tendency to deprave and corrupt”, the prosecution said in its statement.
“While he’s remorseful for his actions which may have caused social disharmony, that doesn’t amount to a crime”, Dodwell said.
Advertisement
All in, Yee was remanded for 50 days, including time spent in Changi Prison and two weeks at IMH for assessment.
