Self-radicalised Singaporean boy had ‘some friends in school’, spent much time online planning attack: ISD
SINGAPORE — The Singaporean boy who was plotting to attack Muslims at two mosques here had “some friends in school”, but spent a large amount of his time online looking into firearms licensing in Singapore and watching videos to learn how to drive.
SINGAPORE — The Singaporean boy who was plotting to attack Muslims at two mosques here had “some friends in school”, but spent a large amount of his time online looking into firearms licensing in Singapore and watching videos to learn how to drive.
The Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Wednesday (Jan 27) in an update that it will make the necessary arrangement for the 16-year-old so that he can continue with his studies, which will include preparing him for national examinations, while he is in detention.
The secondary school student, who is a Protestant Christian of Indian ethnicity, cannot be named because he is a minor. He is the youngest person to be detained under the Internal Security Act for terrorism-related activities.
He had hatched a plan to attack the Assyafaah Mosque along Admiralty Lane and Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands on March 15 with a machete.
The date is the second anniversary of when Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant livestreamed the massacre of more than 50 Muslims at mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
In giving more details of the case on Wednesday night, ISD said that the boy kept his plans to himself and it was online exposure to extremist materials that contributed to his self-radicalisation.
He was influenced by Tarrant’s livestream video of an attack at a mosque in Christchurch and his manifesto, as well as propaganda videos put out by terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The teenager was arrested in November last year and detained under the Internal Security Act the following month.
On his rehabilitation, ISD said: “As with other terrorism-related youth cases dealt with under the Internal Security Act in recent years, a mentor will be assigned to him, to motivate him to focus on his rehabilitation, studies and family, and guide him towards pro-social behaviours.”
What the authorities have learnt was that even though the boy did not have a driving licence, it did not deter him from carrying out his plans because he had watched online instructional videos on how to drive and “was confident he would be able to operate a vehicle”.
After he had tried unsuccessfully to obtain a firearm through illegal means, the boy went online to conduct research on firearms licensing in Singapore.
He also looked into the possibility of joining the Singapore Rifle Association here in order to gain access to firearms, but gave up the idea when the avenues he explored did not pan out.
ISD said earlier on Wednesday that the boy will undergo a holistic programme consisting of religious, psychological and social rehabilitation while he is in detention.
A Christian religious counsellor will be engaged to help him correct the radical ideology he has imbibed while social rehabilitation — in the form of social support — will also be given to him and his family.
The boy will also be granted family visits and an aftercare officer will be assigned to his family to provide social and financial support if needed, ISD said.