The teenager planned to stab people at an open area near Tampines West Community Centre using scissors or a kitchen knife. ST/ISD
SINGAPORE: Just weeks before a 17-year-old Singaporean supporter of terror group ISIS carried out his plan to kill non-Muslims in Tampines, he was arrested.
And this was a very close shave, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Friday (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 was arrested in August under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
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 release 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 contacted 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 which 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, 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.”
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 which 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 which 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 codewords and virtual private networks to hide his activities when discussing his radical beliefs online.
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). - The Straits Times/ANN
