A 51-year-old Singaporean was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after he was caught trying to join the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to a Ministry of Home Affairs statement today.
In late May, Mustafa Sultan Ali left Singapore and went to an unnamed regional country before flying to Turkey. He had taken that travel route in the hopes of hiding his tracks, MHA said, adding that he had planned to cross into Syria from the Turkish border.
He was detained by local authorities in Turkey and subsequently deported to Singapore in June, MHA said. In July, Mustafa was issued with a two-year Order of Detention.
Investigations showed that Mustafa had been “deeply radicalised by the terrorist ideology of ISIS and other radical ideologues he had come across online”, MHA said. He tried to make his way to Syria in order to “participate in armed violence by fighting alongside ISIS”, and was prepared to carry out ISIS-directed terrorist attacks against Western establishments in Singapore.
In May, a 19-year-old Singaporean M Arifil Azim Putra Norja'I was detained for participating in terrorism-related activities and planning to carry out violent attacks in Singapore. Another radicalised 17-year-old Singaporean was also arrested in May under the ISA for further investigations into the extent of his radicalisation.
MHA urged members of the public who may be aware of any involvement in terrorism-related activities to inform the Internal Security Department (1800-2626-473) or the Police (999).
“The Government takes a very serious view of any form of support for terrorism, including but not limited to the use of violence, and will take firm and decisive action against any person who engages in such activities,” it said.
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