Tag Archives: Alfred Dodwell

In a shocking change in tone, lawyer Alfred Dodwell - one of 3 lawyers who represented young Singaporean blogger Amos Yee in his trial - said that Amos Yee's 50 days stay in remand was not illegal and simply reflected due process of the law. Mr Alfred Dodwell, who is the managing director at his own law firm Dodwell + CO, was speaking at a discussion on the Singapore Constitution and due process organised by Singapore Management University's Constitutional Law and Criminal Justice Club as part of its annual Criminal Justice Conference.

The Courts have sentenced teenage YouTuber Amos Yee Pang Sang to 4 weeks imprisonment, backdating it to 2 June 2015. The IMH doctor's report indicated that Yee admitted to his guilt and promised not to reoffend as he realised that his actions were against the law and could disrupt social harmony.

Ever since Amos Yee was forced into 3 weeks remand, there has been little news about his condition. It appears that Amos is not coping well with prison and may be suffering from a mental breakdown. Is this how Singapore treats our 16 year olds? Does Amos deserve such harsh and draconian treatment?

Defence lawyers Alfred Dodwell and Ervin Tan had sought a reduction of Amos' S$30,000 bail amount and for him to be allowed to post content online before his trial is completed. The latter condition was too broad and disproportionate, they argued. Amos has been on social media since he was eight and social media engagement is akin to drinking water for the teenager, they said. But DPP Hay argued that Amos had already breached his bail conditions by making two blog postings while he was out on bail. The prosecution was prepared to agree to a lower bail amount and not to have him report to a police station daily if Amos agreed to go for counselling.

The 16-year-old Amos Yee was back in court today (21 Apr) for a bail review. He had been in remand since last Friday (17 Apr), after no bail was posted for him following a pre-trial conference that day. Three lawyers, Alfred Dodwell, Chong Jia Hao and Ervin Tan, have stepped forward to tell the court that they would be acting for Amos on pro-bono. Mr Dodwell said a bailor was on the way to help bail Amos out.