PUBLISHED ONJuly 15, 2024 7:00 AMByChing Shi JieTwo self-radicalised Singaporeans, a 14-year-old boy and a 33-year-old public servant, have been placed on Restriction Orders (RO) under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
Their self-radicalisation were triggered by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) said in a statement on Monday (July 15).
The former, a secondary three student who aspired to join terrorist groups and carry out attacks in Singapore against non-Muslim communities, is the youngest individual to be issued with an ISA order.
He was placed in an RO under ISA in June, according to ISD.
A person placed on an RO cannot change their residence or employment or travel out of Singapore without approval of the director of the Internal Security Department.
They cannot access the internet or social media, issue public statements, address public meetings or print, distribute and contribute to any publication. They also cannot hold office in, or be a member of any organisation, association or group without the prior approval of the ISD director.
The student's path to radicalisation was triggered by Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7 last year. By January, he believed that Hamas' attacks were justified, and regarded other Palestinian militant groups as "legitimate defenders of Palestine" and was supportive of their violent acts.
"While researching online, the youth saw material which prophesised the impending End of Times (EoT) and the rise of the Black Flag Army (BFA)," ISD said.
"Over time, he became firmly convinced that the EoT would occur in his lifetime, and that it was his obligation as a Muslim to fight for the BFA upon its emergence and die as a martyr."
According to ISD, the BFA is prophesised to be a Muslim army carrying black flags led by Mahdi, the saviour of Muslims, which will emerge from Khorasan (historical region covering parts of modern-day Afghanistan and north-east Iran) to engage in a final battle with the non-believers during EoT.
While his family members were unaware of his radicalisation, ISD said that the teen's parents had noticed his increasingly segregationist beliefs, but did not think they warranted intervention and assistance.
ISD said that the student began adhering strictly to segregationist beliefs - such as believing that celebrating birthdays and talking to his female classmates were forbidden under Islamic law.
He also took steps to prepare himself physically to fight for the BFA and planned to save money by working part-time to fund his travel to Afghanistan, ISD added.
"He was resolved to join the BFA even if the authorities or his family tried to stop him."
The student also started an online chat group and invited six of his schoolmates to join, where he shared videos and links on armed violence, as well as several videos of himself as a terrorist fighter.
ISD added: "Beyond this, the youth hoped to expand the membership of his online chat group to 60 - 100 people. Once he had amassed sufficient numbers, he aspired to conduct attacks against non-Muslim communities during their local festivals such as Chinese New Year, Christmas and Deepavali.
"He hoped such attacks would instil fear amongst non-Muslims, to deter them from such 'un-Islamic' festivities and facilitate the establishment of an Islamic state in Singapore."
ISD's investigations to date indicates that the youth acted alone and was unsuccessful in radicalising or recruiting his school mates, ISD said.
While on an RO, the student will undergo religious counselling by the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) to address the religious misperceptions that have contributed to his violent and extremist ideology as part of his rehabilitation programme.
He will also receive psychological counselling by an ISD psychologist, to address the non-ideological factors that rendered him vulnerable to radicalisation, ISD said, adding that he will be assigned a RRG mentor "given his young age".
"ISD officers will also be working closely with the youth's family and school to ensure that he has adequate support to stay on track with his rehabilitation, and that his studies will not be disrupted," ISD said.
ISD has, to date, dealt with 13 self-radicalised youths aged 20 and below since 2015.
The second Singaporean who was issued an RO is An'nadya An'nahari, a former manager with a statutory board.
She was placed on RO in July.
She is the second public servant to be issued with an ISA order - after former teacher Mohamed Khairul Riduan, then 38, was issued an order of detention in November 2022.
ISD said that An'nadya first attracted security interest in May 2021 for her online posts which had the potential to incite social disharmony.
Adding that she did not exhibit radical inclinations then, ISD said that she was advised by the authorities to delete her online posts.
"Despite being advised in 2021 to be mindful of her social media activities, An'nadya did not heed the advice. Instead, she escalated her online activities to the point of participating in radicalisation," they added.
Following the Hamas attacks in Israel, An'nadya started watching online videos of the situation in Gaza, which showed Palestinians being killed.
"An'nadya then came to attention in April 2024 for her online activities, which included threats to attack and kill Israelis," the ministry said, adding that she also joined several social media groups - many of them shared information on military operations by Hamas and its military wing Al-Qassam Brigades (AQB).
The woman later became aware of the Axis of Resistance (AOR), a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations including Hamas, AQB, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
"She began to view the groups under the AOR as resistance fighters, despite knowing that they had been designated as terrorist organisations in several jurisdictions," ISD said.
An'nadya participated in several pro-AOR social media groups and joined a channel as an administrator to draft a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), to ensure that the channel's content remained focused on encouraging support for the AOR and its violent operations.
"She would identify herself as a Singaporean and openly express her support the terrorist group and their violent operations, [as well as] exchange violent, extremist views in private messages with several foreign pro-AOR individuals," ISD said.
"An'nadya shared the channel's invite link with her family members and friends to encourage them to join, but was unsuccessful in recruiting them."
"She was aware that her online activities and support for the AOR were against the law and had thus refrained from mentioning her extremist activities and views to her colleagues at the statutory board."
The two Singaporeans were issued a RO not for their support for Palestine, but for their support for armed violence, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam said on Monday.
And in the case of the young boy, it was also because he was "prepared to engage in armed violence himself", said the minister.
Speaking to the media at his ministry's headquarters at Novena, Shanmugam added it was "worrying" it took only a few months for the student to be radicalised.
"I sympathise with the Palestinian cause. They should have their own country and not suffer like this," he said.
"But sympathy for any foreign cause cannot mean we can support or allow terrorism."
When asked why the two Singaporeans were not taken into custody, Shanmugam said that under the Internal Security Act, ISD can recommend detention orders or a series of restriction orders that is based on their "assessment of a threat".
"We try to let them get on with their lives as far as possible, the minister added. "But at the same time, try to move them away from the path of radicalisation."
chingshijie@asiaone.com
