Lawyer Charles Yeo remains at large, arrest warrant against him extended

SINGAPORE: Lawyer Charles Yeo Yao Hui, who absconded from the country with criminal charges pending against him, remains outside of Singapore and at large, a district court heard on Wednesday (Sep 14).

Yeo, 32, was charged in January with harassing a police officer and wounding the religious feelings of Christians in some social media posts.

A warrant of arrest was issued for the former Reform Party chairman in August after he breached the conditions for overseas travel while on bail.

The State Courts had granted Yeo permission to travel to Vietnam for work between Jul 27 and Jul 30. However, he did not return to Singapore and did not report to the investigation officer on Aug 1 as he was required to.

Instead, he posted an announcement on Instagram on Jul 30 saying he was seeking "political asylum" in the United Kingdom. He made repeated claims that the criminal charges against him were "politcally motivated".

On Wednesday, the court reviewed the warrant to arrest. Two public prosecutors attended the case, with one telling the court that Yeo still remains "outside of jurisdiction".

The Police Gazette is still active against him, and she applied for the warrant to arrest to be extended. She asked for a review of the warrant to be fixed in about six months.

The judge fixed another review of the arrest warrant in March next year.