Organisers of an anime convention have rejected ‘unfortunate’ attempts to blame them for the assault on convicted child sex offender Amos Yee, clarifying that the incident took place in a lobby area outside the event premises.
The incident occurred at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on May 9, after Yee attempted to enter Doujin Market, from which he had been banned.
At the convention centre, a cosplayer had punched Yee in the face repeatedly, kicking and stomping on his head. The 18-year-old, Bosco Chun Ho Wang, was charged with one count each of assault and being a public nuisance.
Yee posted a video about the incident the following day, alleging that the organisers “had a role to play” in the attack, by restricting his entry and “telling everybody” he was a “predator”.
In response to Stomp’s queries, a spokesperson from Doujin Market said that Yee’s intent to attend the show was “unacceptable” and that his ticket had been cancelled. Security staff were also briefed on his appearance to ensure he was denied entry.
The organisers subsequently addressed the matter in an Instagram post, saying they were working to ban him from all its shows.
“The focus of Doujin Market has always been on the creators,” the spokesperson told Stomp. “We did not want someone who was not a member of our community taking that focus away from them, and even making members of our community feel unsafe.”
The spokesperson said that Yee approached staff members who confirmed he was banned from the show on May 9, the first day of the event.
Later, staff were approached by “aggressive” cosplayers who claimed they were looking for Yee, “demanding” his whereabouts. The group was turned away as only one member had the wristband needed to enter the event premises.
The spokesperson explained that the brawl subsequently took place in the lobby area of the convention centre, expressing gratitude to the police for their response.
“It’s unfortunate to hear that attempts are being made to cast blame on us for an incident that did not happen at our show itself,” the representative added.
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