Amos Yee to be charged over online posts allegedly threatening racial harmony, advocating sex with children
Child sex offender Amos Yee is set to be charged in court on Aug 26 over online content that allegedly threatened racial harmony and advocated sexual relationships involving children.
The police said in a news release on Aug 25 that the 27-year-old will face offences relating to content he allegedly published online between 2021 and 2026.
Between April and July this year, police received several reports about online content published by Yee that was found to be “alarming and racially divisive”.
Investigations were subsequently conducted.
Posts allegedly claimed minority communities were discriminated against
According to the police, Yee made two posts on his blog on April 7 and 11 and uploaded a video on X on May 27.
In the content, he allegedly stated that the Malay-Muslim and Indian communities in Singapore were heavily discriminated against by the Chinese majority.
He also allegedly made statements about the Government’s treatment of these communities and suggested that they should protest against the Government.
Police issued an Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) Disabling Direction on Aug 18 for the video on X to be taken down.
X has complied with the direction and the video is no longer available.
Police also issued Stop Communication Directions to Yee to remove the remaining content from his personal blog.
Allegedly advocated sexual relationships involving children
Yee is also accused of publishing content advocating sexual relationships involving children.
The police said that in a June 30 blog post, Yee allegedly stated that children were capable of consenting to sexual acts and advocated abolishing laws governing the age at which children can consent to such acts.
Investigations also uncovered three videos uploaded online in 2021 in which Yee allegedly made statements advocating sexual relationships involving children and the abolition of laws prohibiting child sexual abuse material.
Yee will be charged with knowingly attempting to promote feelings of disharmony between different racial groups on the grounds of race under Section 298A(a) of the Penal Code 1871.
He will also face charges of making indecent communications likely to cause alarm under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA).
The racial harmony offence carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both, while the POHA offence carries a fine of up to $5,000.
Yee returned to Singapore after deportation from US
The latest charges come about five months after Yee returned to Singapore following years in the United States.
He was deported from the US in March and arrested at Changi Airport upon his arrival.
Yee had left Singapore for the US in 2016 and was granted asylum there the following year.
In 2020, he was arrested in Chicago and later pleaded guilty to grooming a 14-year-old girl and possessing child pornography.
A US court sentenced him to six years’ jail in December 2021. He was granted parole in October 2023 but returned to custody about a month later for violating his parole conditions.
He was released on parole again in November 2025 and subsequently detained by US immigration authorities before being deported to Singapore in March this year.
Also facing NS-related charges
Upon his return, Yee was charged with three offences relating to his National Service obligations.
He is accused of failing to report for his pre-enlistment medical screening for more than nine years, from April 26, 2016, to March 19, 2026.
He also allegedly left Singapore without valid exit permits over two periods between 2015 and 2026.
Yee is expected to plead guilty to the NS-related charges on Sept 7.
Before leaving Singapore, Yee had also been jailed in 2015 for wounding religious feelings after making remarks about Christians. He was jailed again and fined in 2016 over remarks about Christians and Muslims.
Police said they take a serious view of acts that threaten racial and religious harmony and of indecent communications, including those advocating or promoting sexual relationships involving children.
“Any person who commits such acts or communications will be dealt with swiftly and firmly in accordance with the law,” police said.
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