Singapore police arrested a 17-year-old boy who posted a video online that was critical of the country’s late founding father Lee Kuan Yew, local press reported today.

At least 20 police reports had been lodged against Amos Yee for his video ‘Lee Kuan Yew is Finally Dead!’ the Straits Times reported.

“Lee Kuan Yew... was a horrible person and an awful leader (for) our country. He was a dictator but managed to fool most of the world to think he was democratic,” Yee said in the video.

Later comparing Lee to Jesus Christ, Yee said that both were “power hungry and malicious”.

Yee was arrested yesterday, police said, as more than 100,000 people lined the city’s streets for Lee’s state funeral procession.

Lawyer Chia Boon Teck, who lodged one police report against Yee, said the young man’s statements against Lee “violate the Sedition Act”.

Yee’s commentary against Christians also violated “the Penal Code as a ‘deliberate intent to wound religious feelings’,” the lawyer said.

Yee has since taken down the video.

Others seemed to support Yee’s right to free speech.

“Whether we agree or disagree with what Amos Yee said should not distract us from the fact that there are many meaningful conversations out there that provide an alternative to Lee’s legacy,”

said Howard Lee, editor of socio-political blog The Online Citizen .

“Unfortunately, the reaction to Yee, as well as on other online platforms, suggests a strong interest to silence such narratives.”

- dpa