ISD detains 3 self-radicalised men who made preparations to fight overseas
Three self-radicalised Singaporeans, 21-year-old Muhammad Indra Aqmal Effendy, 41-year-old Mohamad Latiff Rahim and 44-year-old Nurisham Yusoff were detained under the Internal Security Act in November 2024.
They were separately self-radicalised online, their radicalisation triggered or accelerated by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and they had made preparations to engage in armed violence overseas.
Indra, a lift mechanic, consumed online content on the situation in Gaza and extremist materials on armed jihad and martyrdom.
He believed that fighting for Hamas in Gaza was a legitimate form of armed jihad and aspired to die as a martyr while fighting.
Indra researched possible travel routes and trained to be combat-ready with exercises at home and practised weapon handling with his toy guns.
Latiff was a director in a digital marketing company based in Bangkok, Thailand. He was arrested upon his return to Singapore.
Over the years, Latiff became convinced that the End-of-Times was imminent and that it was his religious duty to fight against the enemies of Islam.
In September 2022, he visited a shooting range in Bangkok to familiarise himself with firearms and he intensified his physical training in early-2024.
Latiff did not have specific attack plans on Singapore but admitted that he was willing to do it if instructed.
Nurisham, a security guard believed that martyrdom was the easiest way for him to atone for his sins and that it was his religious obligation to travel to Gaza to defend Palestinian Muslims.
He researched online for ways to enter Gaza and posted extensively on social media about the Israel-Hamas war in the hopes that someone in the online community would facilitate his travel to Gaza.
Nurisham made plans to re-familiarise himself with firearms handling at a shooting range in Batam.
All three individuals acted alone and there was no indication that they had radicalised or recruited others in Singapore.
Their family members in Singapore were unaware of their plans to partake in armed violence.
The Internal Security Department reminded the public to stay vigilant against radical elements and extremist content, which encourage or legitimise acts of terrorism and violent extremism.
Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised should contact the ISD hotline 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD).
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