Singapore detains 16-year-old student for allegedly planning attack on two mosques
SINGAPORE: A 16-year-old Singaporean boy was detained in December under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly planning to use a machete to attack Muslims at two mosques in the Woodlands area in March, on the anniversary of New Zealand’s Christchurch attacks.
The teenager, who was not named, is a Protestant Christian of Indian ethnicity. He is the youngest person to be dealt with under the ISA for terrorism-related activities, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said in a media release yesterday.
A Secondary 4 student at the time of his arrest, he is the first detainee to be inspired by far-right extremist ideology, ISD added.
ISD stated that the teen was influenced by the 2019 terror a acks at two mosques in Christchurch. He had planned to carry out his a acks on Mar 15 this year.
“He was self-radicalised, motivated by a strong antipathy towards Islam and a fascination with violence,” ISD said.
“He watched the livestream video of the terrorist attack on the two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on Mar 15, 2019, and read the manifesto of the Christchurch a acker, Brenton Tarrant.
“He had also watched Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda videos, and came to the erroneous conclusion that ISIS represented Islam, and that Islam called on its followers to kill non-believers.”
ISD said the teen was found to have made detailed plans and preparations to a ack the two mosques, and that it was “clear” he was influenced by Tarrant’s actions and manifesto.
He chose Assyafaah Mosque and Yusof Ishak Mosque as his targets because they were near his home, ISD said, adding that he conducted online reconnaissance and research using Google Maps and Street View on both mosques to prepare for the a acks.
According to ISD at a media briefing, the teen initially considered An-Nur Mosque instead of Yusof Ishak Mosque, but the latter was deemed closer to Assyafaah Mosque. He planned his travel route, identified mosque entrances and where to park his vehicle, ISD said.
To prepare himself for the knifing attack, the teen watched YouTube videos, ISD said, and was confident of hi ing the arteries of his targets by randomly slashing at their neck and chest areas.
At the time of his arrest, the teen had found his choice of machete on Carousell and added it to his favourite listings, but had not bought it yet, ISD said
According to the listing, the Smith & Wesson machete cost S$190. He had intended to save up for the purchase and was confident of doing so in time for the intended a acks, ISD added.
Carousell’s vice president of operations Su Lin Tan said later on Wednesday that knives not meant for culinary or domestic use are not allowed on the online marketplace and those listings have since been taken down.
“Carousell strictly prohibits any form of weaponry to be sold on its platform and will continue to further its efforts with both automated and manual moderation, to keep our marketplace safe,” she said.
Similar to what Tarrant did, the 16-year-old student had intended to drive between the two mosques and planned to get hold of a vehicle for use during the a acks.
He was cognisant of the need to travel quickly between the attack sites, according to ISD, adding that he had intended to steal his father’s credit card to rent a BlueSG vehicle after identifying a car-sharing station near his home.
He also had no driving licence but was confident he could “make it work”, ISD said at the media briefing.
Before deciding on the machete as his attack weapon, ISD said his “original plan” was to use an assault rifle similar to that used by Tarrant.
The teen managed to find a prospective seller via Telegram, but did not follow through after suspecting it was a scam when the seller asked for payment in Bitcoin.
He also checked the Arms and Explosives Licence requirements, and considered joining the Singapore Rifle Association.
“He nevertheless persisted to search for firearms online, and only gave up the idea when he realised that it would be difficult to get his hands on one given Singapore’s strict gun-control laws,” ISD said in its media release.
The youth had bought a tactical vest from an online platform to use in his a acks. (Photo: ISD)
The teen also explored making a triacetone triperoxide (TATP) bomb, and se ing fire to the mosques using gasoline, mimicking Tarrant’s plan.
“He eventually dropped both ideas due to logistical and personal safety concerns,” ISD said.
The teen had also bought a tactical vest from Carousell last November, intending to embellish it with rightwing extremist symbols. He also wanted to modify it so he could strap on his mobile device to livestream the a ack, just like Tarrant did, ISD said.
In further imitation of Tarrant, ISD said the teen had prepared two documents that he wanted to disseminate prior to his a acks.
The first was a message to the people of France, which he drafted after the attack against Christians in a church in Nice in October last year. In the message, he called on the French people to “stand up for what is right”, claiming that “we cannot let them (Muslims) lurk in our bushes and wait for them to a ack”.
The second document, which ISD said was still unfinished when he was arrested, was a manifesto detailing his hatred for Islam and his belief that “violence should never be solved with peace”. The draft borrowed heavily from Tarrant’s manifesto and referred to the terrorist as a “saint”, ISD said.
ISD said the detailed planning and preparation attested to the teen’s determination to follow through with his a ack plan.
“He admitted during the investigation that he could only foresee two outcomes to his plan – that he is arrested before he is able to carry out the a acks, or he executes the plan and is thereafter killed by the police,” ISD said.
Speaking to reporters, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said it was “quite chilling” to hear the teen saying this to ISD officers.
“He went in fully prepared, knowing that he is going to die, and he was prepared to die,” he added.
According to ISD, investigations so far indicate that the youth had acted alone, with no indication that he tried to influence anyone with his extreme outlook or involve others in his a ack plans.
“His immediate family and others in his social circles were not aware of his a ack plans and the depth of his hatred for Islam,” ISD said.
Notwithstanding his age, the teen knew what he was doing, ISD said, pointing out that the “specificity” of his plans showed they were not just “random musings”.
The agency added that it received intelligence last November about a Singapore-based individual who wanted to attack Muslims in Singapore.
The teen was arrested under the ISA on Nov 26 and issued with a detention order on Dec 23.
“He was assessed to pose an imminent security threat,” ISD said.