Rising number of radicals caught in S’pore; country must be prepared for terror incident: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE – More radicalised people have been caught here, and Singaporeans should be psychologically prepared for an incident, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Feb 11.

He said the recent cases of a teen, a

housewife and a cleaner who were dealt with under the Internal Security Act

point to a worrying trend.

Mr Shanmugam was speaking to the media at the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, next to Fort Canning Park, on the sidelines of the Thaipusam festival.

“It is a third young man that we have now issued orders against on far-right extremist ideologies. He has been consuming all the junk on race issues and has convinced himself on far-right supremacy,” he said, referring to the teen.

The

18-year-old role-played as a terrorist in an online game

, and wanted to start a race war between the Chinese and the Malays.

He idolised Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019.

The teen wanted to attack Muslims at a mosque in Singapore, and got a tattoo and T-shirts with custom prints of logos associated with neo-Nazi, white supremacist and far-right groups.

The Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Feb 10 that he was issued an order of detention in December 2024.

Mr Shanmugam noted that orders were also issued against a housewife and a cleaner who supported Islamist militant and terrorist organisations.

The Singaporean housewife, who managed social media groups supporting Islamist militant and terrorist organisations, was issued a restriction order.

The Malaysian cleaner, who was working in Singapore, was arrested in November 2024 and repatriated to Malaysia that month.

Asked about the case involving an

Iranian woman and her Malaysian husband

who were declared national security threats, Mr Shanmugam said the authorities had taken appropriate action.

The woman, Parvane Heidaridehkordi, 38, had her long-term visit pass cancelled for being involved in the operations of a Singapore-registered travel agency that had sponsored visa applications by terrorism-linked foreigners wanting to enter Singapore.

Her husband, Soo Thean Ling, 65, had his permanent resident status revoked after he tried to register a travel agency business in Singapore twice after the authorities began investigating the travel agency his wife was involved in.

Mr Shanmugam said: “We have been looking at a lady, and some of her activities caused security concerns. And we have decided to take action and ask her to leave.”

He added that as far as he knew, there were no terrorism-linked foreigners who were brought in via the travel agency that the woman was involved in.

On Feb 11, when The Straits Times visited the Housing Board flat where the couple lived, there did not appear to be anyone at home. A neighbour said he last spotted the woman pacing up and down the corridor outside the flat about a week ago, and has not seen the man in about a month.

In response to queries, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Feb 13 that Soo was not in Singapore and that Parvane has to leave the country by Feb 17.

An MHA spokesman said Soo became a Singapore Permanent Resident in March 1997, and the couple registered their marriage here on July 15, 2020.

Parvane was then able to obtain her Long-Term Visit Pass under Soo’s sponsorship in April 2021. They have been residing mostly in Singapore.

The spokesman said: “None of the visa applications sponsored by the Singapore-registered travel agency for terrorism-linked individuals were approved.  

“Investigations thus far do not indicate that the couple was involved in other terrorism-related activities. We are unable to provide further information due to operational reasons.”

Mr Shanmugam said that while the authorities here have been proactive, Singaporeans should be prepared.

He said: “I keep saying it is not like in other countries. It is not as bad. ISD has the power to nip it in the bud, move in much earlier.

“But you can see from the number of cases, we are not immune and it is increasing, and I think it is worrying.

“Remember the SGSecure tag line? Not if, but when. At some point, something will happen. We just have to be psychologically prepared.”

He added that how the community responds when an incident does happen is important, and a lot has been done to make sure there is strength within the community.

He said: “It’s a world out there which is more fraught, more troubled. You will see more of this outside and that will wash in, in some way, to within Singapore too.”