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Man arrested over Amos Yee attack

SINGAPORE — A day after a mystery man’s slapping of Amos Yee got widespread public attention, a 49-year-old man was arrested in connection with the case.

Amos Yee grimacing after being struck on the face by an unidentified man before attending his court hearing. Photo: Ernest Chua/TODAY

Amos Yee grimacing after being struck on the face by an unidentified man before attending his court hearing. Photo: Ernest Chua/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — A day after a mystery man’s slapping of Amos Yee got widespread public attention, a 49-year-old man was arrested in connection with the case.

TODAY understands the arrest was made at 2am, less than 12 hours after the assault on the 16-year-old blogger outside the State Courts.

It is unclear what offence the man is being investigated for but under the law, voluntarily causing hurt is non-arrestable.

Yesterday (April 30), as Amos approached the entrance of the State Courts for a pre-trial hearing on his charges of making offensive remarks against Christianity and spreading obscene imagery, a man in a red polo shirt and khaki pants lunged towards him and slapped him across the left cheek.

As the teenager gripped his cheek in grimace and shock, the man fled, taunting him to sue him.

Yesterday’s slapping incident, which was the start of a dramatic day for Amos who ended up going back into custody at Changi Prison because his bailor decided to discharge himself, drew a mixed bag of responses.

While some reacted with glee, citing Amos’ breaching of his bail conditions not to post on social media while his case is pending, many backed Law Minister K Shanmugam’s swift rebuke against the assault.

Mr Shanmugam had called the act unacceptable and urged the public to observe the rule of law. “Taking the law into one’s own hands cannot be condoned,” he wrote on his Facebook page yesterday, adding that the courts should be left to deal with accused persons, even if the public has strong feelings against the person.

“If everyone starts taking the law into his or her own hands, then we will no longer be a civilised society,” he added.

Amos’ case will be mentioned again on Monday, with his trial possibly starting as soon as Thursday.

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