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29YO S’porean Who Self-Radicalised Detained; Had Even Tried to Recruit People Online

2022-05-10 , 3:34 pm

While the threat of terrorists is not as potent as it was a few years ago, it most definitely has not disappeared.

And despite how safe we may be, Singapore is not immune to their radical ideologies either.

Radjev Lal Madan Lal, a self-radicalised Singaporean, was prepared to travel overseas to take up arms. He was detained in April this year under the Internal Security Act.

Influenced By Radical Preachers

The 29-year-old was a mover at a logistics company and was first introduced to the online sermons of foreign radical preacher Imran Hosei in 2013, who he became heavily influenced by.

The radical preacher is from Trinidad and Tobago and preached about the supposed imminent “end of times” and the rise of a Muslim “Black Flag Army” (BFA) to do battle with “non-believers”.

These resonated with Radjev, who had a keen interest in conspiracy theories.

Over time, he became deeply radicalised by both Imran and other radical preachers such as American Anwar Al-Awlaki, a dead Al-Qaeda ideologue, as well as imprisoned Australian radical Musa Cerantonio.

Convinced to Kill “Enemies” of Islam

Radjev then became convinced that it was his religious obligation to partake in armed violence with the BFA to kill the “enemies” of Islam.

In his perspective, they included non-Muslims who meddled in Islamic affairs, as well as Western countries like the United States and Israel.

Radjev believed that dying as a martyr on the battlefield alongside the BFA would earn him rewards in the afterlife.

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Considered Travelling to Join Radical Groups

Believing that jihadist groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban were all possible manifestations of the BFA, Radjev made plans to travel to Syria and join ISIS.

This was abandoned after Imran disputed that ISIS was the BFA.

At the time of his arrest in April, Radjev believed that the Taliban might represent the BFA and was considering travelling to conflict zones in Afghanistan to join the militant group. He had even practised knifing techniques.

Tried to Spread Radical Ideologies

After falling deeply into the radical ideologies himself, Radjev tried to recruit and propagate his ideologies to family, friends and people online.

Aside from family and friends, he also created a social media group to spread his radical ideology to online contacts. Fortunately, none of his family members or friends in Singapore responded positively to his overtures.

While Radjev did not have any specific attack plans against Singapore, he admitted that he was willing to conduct an attack in Singapore or against Singapore’s interests overseas if instructed to do so by either Imran or the BFA, the ISD said.

The ISD also reiterated that it would take firm action against any individual in Singapore who supports, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations to undertake armed violence.