Amos Yee has apparently collected S$20,000 in donations from the public, and wants people to donate more money to him so he can buy movie-making gadgets, and go on an overseas holiday.
The 16-year-old had appealed for donations to fund his legal fees, after he was arrested for sedition and publishing obscene imagery for insulting Lee Kuan Yew and Christianity in an online video.
Yee has been convicted of transmitting an obscene image and deliberately “wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person.”
He is awaiting sentencing, and has just finished pranking Singaporeans by crying wolf that his bailor molested him.
Yee’s case drew a mix response from Singaporeans, with many criticising his actions, while a separate faction called him a martyr of free speech in Singapore.
He said that since he has no legal fees or lawyers’ bills to pay, he is in a bind over what to do with the supposed S$20,000 collected, and is considering using it for personal purposes.
“So now I’m conflicted, and deciding whether or not I should pocket the money specifically meant for my court fees, to myself (I’m leaning towards yes). This is a problem you will face if you promise that you will only spend that money on a specific thing.”
Yee also asked the public to continue donating money to fund pay for his living expenses, and make more videos.
And of course, a vacation.
“Since many people have been imploring me to go overseas, and escape the tumultuous, stifling atmosphere of authoritative dictators that plagues the very fabric of our nation’s social regime (My-my). You can potentially help in funding my plane ticket too.”
This is Amos Yee’s blog post in full:
The crowdfund for my court case is over, as of now I’ve managed to raise approximately 20 thousand dollars, and it’s a pretty awkward turn of events…
Because initially, I really thought that when I had broken the terms of the bail, I had to reimburse either my parents or Vincent (The molester), 20 thousand dollars. But the judge never fully revoked the bail, I mean right now I am still released on a bail of $10000 until my sentence (Oh and I would like to clarify, it is not my father who is currently my surety, but my mother, I don’t how you can fucking have a bailor you might be filing a restraining order on), so we never had to forfeit the $20000 that I would have taken from the crowdfund.
In addition to that 20 thousand dollars needed to pay for the bail, I also estimated an additional 10 thousand dollars needed to pay for all the court expenses, and therefore claimed I wanted to raise a total of 30k.
That estimate was really off, ultimately I didn’t really need that much money, in fact I don’t even think we’ve finished using up the $1500 deposit sent to my lawyers. Yeah, apparently if you play your cards right, a full-fledged trial can be that cheap.
I would have told you guys to stop donating because you didn’t have to anymore, but I was in prison so…
Now, I don’t want 20 thousand dollars just lying dormant in a bank account and neither do I think my fellow donatees do, so…. My fellow donatees, can I perhaps pocket the money? 😀
Now I do like to acknowledge that my crowdfunding is much, much less successful that Roy’s, because over the course of like a month, I raised 20 thousand dollars, but Roy was able to raise 36 thousand in the very first day, so I am highly jealous. But that’s great for Roy, because he actually had to pay his lawyers a really fucking hefty sum, while I didn’t.
So now I’m conflicted, and deciding whether or not I should pocket the money specifically meant for my court fees, to myself (I’m leaning towards yes). This is a problem you will face if you promise that you will only spend that money on a specific thing.
This is a problem, I wouldn’t be facing, in the next fund.
If you are a fervent fan and you like my videos, my blog or my Facebook posts, then do donate to:
My Paypal account : amosyee@gmail.com
My Bank Account: OCBC SAVINGS : 656-9-110387 (Swift Code: OCBCSGSG)
Or if instead of giving money wholesale, you prefer monthly pledges, then I direct you to my patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/amosyee
This avenue to show support for my work will continue indefinitely. And this support of course, really helps in basic living expenses, which I acknowledge being underage and primarily living off my parents, I have not been inflicted with the issue of paying the bills, but I probably have to, and want to, deal with that soon.
In terms of my artistic endeavours, it will definitely help in attaining various equipment (Wacom Tablets, green screens, Legato Game Capture HD) And with those items, I can perhaps finally materialize the plethora of ideas I’ve been accumulating over the years, which could be extremely fun.
And also, since many people have been imploring me to go overseas, and escape the tumultuous, stifling atmosphere of authoritative dictators that plagues the very fabric of our nation’s social regime (My-my). You can potentially help in funding my plane ticket too.
