A Singaporean teenager identified as Amos Yee, 17, uploaded an eight-minute video on March 27 entitled "Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead," was arrested on Sunday as he celebrated the death of the founding father of Singapore and criticized his ruling.
The video received a lot of backlash from the Singaporeans but Yee took it down shortly after a lot of criticisms were posted online. However, copies of the video were uploaded on YouTube that is why police officials were able to watch it.
The video also criticized Christians and there were over 20 police reports submitted regarding the video. According to BBC, Singapore has strict laws regarding hate speeches and the late Lee is known for being an authoritarian, which was the main point being criticized by Yee.
Yee said in the video that Lee is a horrible person and pointed out that people are afraid to say that because they might get in trouble. He even challenged Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the oldest son of the late Lee to sue him.
The New York Times also reported that the police officials confirmed that the teenager was arrested but no further details were given. Yee is a blogger and he will be facing the judge handling the case this Tuesday and his arrest could lead to being imprisoned for three years. Singapore does not have rules against defamation but they have strict rules regarding offensive statements against religious groups.
The video of Yee was posted on his WordPress-powered blog and his Facebook account. It is not the first video uploaded by Yee as he also made videos regarding the legal ban of Singapore on homosexuality and the decision to drop out of school for him to purse his ranting in front of the camera.