Singapore's controversial teen blogger Amos Yee is set to be slapped with eight new charges, including five for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims.
The 17-year-old blogger also faces one charge of allegedly wounding the religious feelings of Christians. All these charges are under Section 298 of the Penal Code.
The remaining two charges are under Section 174 of the Penal Code for not appearing at the Jurong Police Division in spite of repeated judicial and police orders.
The religious charges are related to the online content which Yee posted between November last year and last Thursday.
Yee posted the images of the eight chargesheets on his blog on Wednesday and pointed to some more content of the same nature he had posted, which were not included in his charges in the court.
Lawyer Alfred Dodwell, who represented Amos Yee last year, will not represent him this time but he said that he would "do his best" to find a lawyer for the blogger.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelvin Kow said in court Yee is "obviously escalating his offensive behaviour in a bid to gain attention" and requested the judge to fix an early trial date. He also highlighted that that Yee "has upped both the tempo and offensiveness of his posts". But he did not object to Yee being given bail.
DPP Kow also asked the judge to warn Yee regarding the potential consequences if he continues to commit further offences while he is out on bail.
Yee responded in this regard and said, "If the prosecution insists, no problem."
Yee will have to face up to three years of jail and a fine if he is convicted of deliberately hurting the religious feelings of others. Apart from that, he will also face up to a month's jail and a fine of up to S$1,500 for failing to report to the Jurong Police Division despite an order.
The pre-trial conference has been scheduled for next Monday, May 30, at 9.30am.
