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3 radicalised domestic helpers detained under Internal Security Act: MHA

SINGAPORE — The authorities have detained three Indonesian domestic workers who were prepared to join or bear arms for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis) and were gathering support for the terrorist group.

The Islamic State logo is depicted on a wall in Grogol, Central Java, in a file photo from 2014.

The Islamic State logo is depicted on a wall in Grogol, Central Java, in a file photo from 2014.

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SINGAPORE — The authorities have detained three Indonesian domestic workers who were prepared to join or bear arms for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis) and were gathering support for the terrorist group.

In a statement on Monday (Sept 23), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the trio, who knew one another and had worked in Singapore for between six and 13 years, have been detained under the Internal Security Act as investigations into their terrorism-financing activities are in progress.

Arrested last month, they are the first domestic helpers to be given detention orders under the Internal Security Act, Singapore’s main national-security law.

The news came as the number of radicalised individuals on orders under the Act is at its highest in the last seven years, owing largely to a spike in cases of radicalisation dealt with from 2015, TODAY reported last month.

In the latest case, domestic helpers Anindia Afiyantari, 33, Retno Hernayani, 36, and Turmini, 31, were radicalised last year after they viewed Isis-related material online. They became convinced that the group was fighting for Islam and that its use of violence against “infidels” was justified, MHA said.

The trio, who joined pro-Isis social-media chat groups and channels, were drawn to violent visuals, such as Isis’ bomb attacks and beheading videos.

They were also seized by recycled propaganda on Isis’ victories in the battlefield, and influenced by sermons online by radical preachers from Indonesia, the ministry said.

A fourth Indonesian domestic worker, who was not found to be radicalised, was also arrested. She was aware of the trio’s radicalised ways, but failed to report them to the authorities. She has since been repatriated to Indonesia.

HOW THE TRIO MET

The radicalised helpers became acquainted at about the time when they were on the path towards radicalisation, MHA said.

Anindia and Retno first met at a social gathering in Singapore on their days off. Turmini connected with them via social media.

They then cultivated a network of pro-militant foreign online contacts, including online boyfriends who shared their pro-Isis ideology, MHA said.

The trio also became strong supporters of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an Isis-affiliated terrorist group based in Indonesia.

INTENTION TO TAKE UP ARMS IN SYRIA

Anindia and Retno — who intended to travel to Syria to join Isis — had also been encouraged by their online network to emigrate to southern Philippines, Afghanistan or Africa to take part in the activities of pro-Isis groups there.

Anindia, MHA said, was prepared to take up arms for Isis in Syria and become a suicide bomber.

Retno, meanwhile, wanted to live among Isis militants in Syria and join the conflict there. She “believed that Muslims were duty-bound to travel to other conflict zones, apart from Syria, such as Palestine and Kashmir, to fight against ‘the enemies of Islam’”, said MHA.

Rallying support for Isis, the duo and Turmini each maintained several social-media accounts from which they posted pro-Isis material.

They also donated to entities overseas for terrorism-related ends, such as supporting the activities of Isis and Jemaah Anshorut Daulah. Turmini, for one, believed her donations would “earn her a place in paradise”, MHA noted.

TERROR THREAT PERSISTS

Singapore, MHA cautioned, faces a “persistent” terror threat fuelled by the virulent propaganda of terrorist groups such as Isis.

That all three helpers were radicalised last year, when Isis’ territory was already diminished significantly, underlines the “enduring appeal” of the group’s violent ideology, MHA said.

Since 2015, 19 foreign domestic workers, including those in the latest case, have been found to be radicalised in Singapore. While none planned to carry out violent acts on Singapore soil, MHA said their radicalisation and associations with terrorists overseas made them a security threat to the city state.

Excluding those in the latest case, all domestic helpers found radicalised since 2015 were repatriated after the authorities completed their investigations.

On Monday, MHA reiterated that the Government takes a serious view of any kind of support for terrorism in Singapore, be it from Singaporeans or foreigners.

“The public should exercise caution against viewing radical material online, including sermons by extremist preachers,” the ministry said.

The community has a critical role in fighting terrorism, MHA added, and the timely reporting of potentially radicalised people allows the authorities to probe and intervene so as to stem the radicalisation before anything untoward happens.

The ministry advised those who know or suspect that someone has been radicalised to phone the Internal Security Department’s Counter-Terrorism Centre on 1800 2626 473.

Related topics

domestic helper Indonesia ISIS terrorism radical

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