Youth shared radical materials with his social media followers
By Samuel Devaraj, The Straits Times, 18 Oct 2024
A 17-year-old Singaporean supporter of terror group ISIS was arrested just weeks before he could carry out his plan to kill non-Muslims in Tampines.
And this was a very close shave, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Oct 18.
The youth, who was from a mainstream school, had planned to carry out his attack during the September school holidays and practised stabbing motions with a pair of scissors.
He had traced his steps from his home to an open area in Tampines Street 81, near supermarkets, provision shops and coffee shops, a children’s art school and a tuition centre, where he had planned to stab non-Muslim men.
The teenager chose this HDB heartland area near Tampines West Community Club as it was crowded and near his home.In a press statement on Oct 18, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said he was issued a two-year order of detention in September.
The teen had also planned to travel to Syria to fight, said ISD. He had got in touch with an online foreign contact for travel advice and researched flight routes.
The youth saw his plan to fight in Syria as meaningful, as he would be able to fight and die with fellow ISIS fighters to establish an Islamic state in Syria, ISD added.
He knew it would be difficult to travel to Syria without arousing the suspicions of his family, ISD said. So, he decided to strike here, a plan that he felt would be easier to carry out and fulfil his aspirations to be a martyr.
Speaking to the media at the site of the planned attack, Mr Shanmugam said thousands of people walk through the area daily, and it would have been more crowded during the school holidays.
The minister said: “He knew that he would be intercepted by the agencies, the police. He had made up his mind to die in the course of the attack. He wanted to become a martyr.
“I would say this was a very close shave. It is very fortunate that ISD arrested him in time.”
Mr Shanmugam said that compared with past cases, this was one of the plans that came closest to being carried out.
He said the youth was detained because of the extent of radicalisation and how close he was to carrying out his plans.
He said: “It is very easy to attack people here. People are defenceless. They are not coming here expecting to be attacked.
“People go around in Singapore feeling safe, so you could easily have gone on a rampage and killed a lot of people around here.
“Look at the kind of people who are around. Kids are playing, senior citizens are resting. They are easy targets for such an attacker.”
ISD said the youth came across the teachings of foreign radical preachers in August 2023 while searching for religious knowledge online.
He embraced segregationist religious beliefs, including the view that Muslims should not extend festive greetings to non-Muslims.
ISD said that following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, online extremist materials by ISIS increased, and he became self-radicalised.
ISD added that he joined online groups that provided updates on ISIS activities, and believed in the use of armed violence to establish an Islamic caliphate.
By January, he aspired to die as a martyr while fighting for the group.
In May, he took a bai’ah or pledge of allegiance to ISIS in his room.
The teen was inspired by ISIS propaganda, which glorified suicide knife attacks, ISD said.
Besides the pair of scissors, he considered using a kitchen knife in his home to stab people in the neck to kill or wound them.
Said ISD: “He felt a sense of pride knowing that his planned attack, if successfully executed, would be the first terrorist attack in Singapore in recent decades.”
The teen had crafted a declaration of armed jihad against non-Muslims, which he planned to release before his attack, to inspire other Muslims to engage in armed violence.
The youth was against national service (NS), as he did not wish to serve a secular or infidel government.
But he still planned to complete it, as he saw NS as a way to equip himself with military and combat skills to help him fight in Syria.
For this, he downloaded materials from an extremist magazine that contained tips on planning an attack or conducting a roadside ambush.
ISD said the youth actively shared radical materials promoting armed jihad with followers of his social media accounts, and wanted to influence them into hating non-Muslims and killing them.
ISD found the teen acted alone and was unsuccessful in radicalising his followers or contacts.
While his family and friends were unaware of his plans, his parents had noticed he was watching videos of foreign preachers. They advised him against consuming such materials as they were unacceptable here.
He ignored them and used code words and virtual private networks to hide his activities when discussing his radical beliefs online.
In a Facebook post, the MP for the area, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, said he was sad and shocked when he heard the news about the arrest.
Mr Masagos, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said everyone should do their part and look out for telltale signs if they suspect someone may have been radicalised.
“This lone-wolf case is a reminder for all of us to remain vigilant. We must also be prepared,” he added.
ISD said this case highlighted the trend of youth radicalisation in recent years.
Since 2015, 14 self-radicalised Singaporeans aged 20 and below have been dealt with under ISA, including this 17-year-old.
ISD said such radicalisation, which usually takes place via online means, can occur within months.
“With ISIS and other terrorist groups calling on their followers to mount attacks wherever they are located, there is a growing threat of lone-actor attacks against soft targets using simple and easily accessible weapons,” ISD added.
Since 2020, ISD has detained five self-radicalised youths who wanted to carry out attacks in Singapore using such weapons.
The other cases are:December 2020 – A 16-year-old youth planned to attack Muslims at two mosques using a machete.
March 2021 – Angered by the Israel-Palestine conflict, a 20-year-old youth planned to knife Jews at a synagogue.
December 2022 – An 18-year-old ISIS supporter wanted to stab and kill “disbelievers” by ambushing them in dark alleys.
December 2022 – A 15-year-old youth planned to behead non-Muslims in popular tourist areas.
Anyone who knows or suspects a person has been radicalised can call the ISD hotline on 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD).
‘Parents have reported their self-radicalised children to ISD’: Shanmugam
By Samuel Devaraj and Caelyn Tan, The Straits Times, 18 Oct 2024
Several self-radicalised Singaporean youths have over the years been reported to the Internal Security Department (ISD) by their families and teachers.
It is this early reporting by the public that is critical in protecting society from terror attacks being carried out by self-radicalised people, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Oct 18.
He was speaking to the media at Tampines Street 81, after a 17-year-old Singaporean youth was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in August.
The youth had planned to kill non-Muslim men during the September school holidays in that area, which has supermarkets, provision shops, coffee shops, a children’s art school and a tuition centre.
Since 2015, 14 self-radicalised Singaporeans aged 20 and below have been dealt with under ISA, including this 17-year-old.
On how the Ministry of Home Affairs could encourage the public to alert the authorities about self-radicalised youth, Mr Shanmugam said the community is a very important line of defence.
He said: “Parents will want their children to be safe. No parent really wants his child to go and do something, then die in the process – do something bad, kill others, then he himself, or she herself, is killed.
“Often, the people we have picked up are people who have been reported to us by parents, other family members, teachers.”
ISD said in a press statement that while the youth’s family and friends were unaware of his plans, his parents had noticed he was watching videos of foreign preachers. They advised him against consuming such materials as they were unacceptable here.
He ignored them and used code words and virtual private networks to hide his activities when discussing his radical beliefs online.
Mr Shanmugam said preventing this youth’s plans was a very close shave, as thousands of people and their families frequent the Tampines area.
He said if the authorities could pick up such people very early, they may not even need to be detained.
Because ISD may assess that they have not gone very far, they can be rehabilitated without detention, and are given religious counselling.
Mr Shanmugam added: “But if they’ve gone further down the road, and are a risk to themselves and to society, then we have to detain them... and in detention, they will receive religious counselling and a variety of help.”
Since 2020, ISD has detained five self-radicalised youths who wanted to carry out attacks in Singapore using easily available weapons like knives and scissors.
ISD said such attacks require little time and preparation to execute.
It added: “It is important that we remain vigilant to signs that someone around us may have become radicalised.
“Family members and friends are best placed to notice changes in behaviour and alert the authorities if they suspect their loved ones have been radicalised.
“Doing so would prevent these individuals from engaging in violence and harming themselves and others.”
ISD said possible signs of radicalisation include frequently surfing radical websites and posting extremist views on social media platforms.
Mr Shanmugam said there have been young people who continued their education and passed their exams while under detention.
He said: “So we try and rehabilitate, get them on to their life. And the aim is to have them released at some point, the sooner the better, go back into society, get a job, have a family, fulfil their potential, do whatever they want to do.”
Residents and people who frequent the area of the planned attack told The Straits Times that they were shocked when they heard about it.
Mr Bai Yufan, 20, a student at the nearby Temasek Polytechnic, said he visits the area three to four times a week and hangs out with his friends after his taekwondo co-curricular activity training.
“Hearing the news, I feel very shaken. I’m in this area often, especially during the September holidays.
“I could have been a victim of his attack. There are also many residents, students and children here. So many people could have been hurt,” he said.
Madam Norain Ahmad, 45, who has been living in Tampines West for the past 15 years, said this incident has reminded her that the safety enjoyed by those living in Singapore can be destroyed in a split second.
The housewife said: “As a mother, I’m very scared. My children could have been victims.”
She has a daughter who is a Secondary 3 student and a son who is finishing primary school.
Anyone who knows or suspects a person has been radicalised can call the ISD hotline on 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD).
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