Two Singaporean Teens Detained Under ISA for Far-Right Extremism and ISIS Support

By
Siti Hajar
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Two self-radicalised Singaporean teenagers have been dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Internal Security Department (ISD) revealed on 2 Apr 2025.

A 17-year-old boy has been issued with an order of detention after planning to attack several mosques in Singapore, while a 15-year-old girl received a restriction order in February for supporting the Islamic State (ISIS).

Far-right Extremism and Planned Mosque Attacks

The 17-year-old boy, who was identified during ISD’s investigations into Nick Lee, 18, had shortlisted five mosques as potential targets in June 2024: Masjid Maarof in Jurong West, Masjid Jamek Queenstown in Margaret Drive, Masjid Darussalam in Clementi, Masjid An-Nur in Admiralty Road and Masjid Hajjah Fatimah in Beach Road.

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His radicalisation began in 2022 when he encountered Islamophobic content online. This, combined with his pre-existing racist views against Malays, led him to develop hatred toward Islam and Muslims.

Like Lee, he identified as an “East Asian supremacist,” believing that Han Chinese, Korean and Japanese ethnicities were superior to Malays and Indians.

In November 2023, he watched the Christchurch shooting video on social media and researched the shooter, Brenton Tarrant. The youth felt satisfied watching Muslims being shot and saw Tarrant as a hero.

After consuming online manifestos by Tarrant and other far-right terrorists, he became convinced that the “Great Replacement” theory was happening in Singapore. This ethno-nationalist theory argues that white European populations are being replaced by non-Europeans through migration.

By early 2024, he wanted to emulate Tarrant and shoot Muslims at mosques with an AK-47 assault rifle.

He planned to attack when people were leaving after Friday prayers, aiming to kill at least 100 Muslims – more than Tarrant’s attack in New Zealand that killed 51 people.

Between February and June 2024, the youth made multiple failed attempts to get a gun.

He contacted a US-based person claiming to be a gun maker, inquired about buying a Glock 19 pistol from a foreign contact, asked about purchasing a replica pistol to modify, and considered smuggling weapons from Malaysia or Thailand.

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He also planned to livestream his attacks like Tarrant did, hoping to inspire other like-minded Singaporeans to carry out similar violence. The teen intended to kill himself before police arrived.

When arrested, he admitted he would have executed his plans if he had obtained a gun.

His parents knew about his hatred toward Muslims and his excessive time spent online. His father had shown him news reports of previous far-right extremist cases under the ISA to encourage a mindset change, but they did not alert authorities.

First Female Teen ISIS Supporter Under ISA

The 15-year-old girl is the first female teen and second-youngest person to be dealt with under the ISA. She was issued a restriction order in February after becoming radicalised by ISIS propaganda online.

Her radicalisation happened quickly, taking only weeks. After encountering ISIS propaganda in June 2023, she became convinced the group was a legitimate religious army defending Muslims in Iraq and Syria.

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She took a virtual pledge of allegiance to an ISIS chatbot in July 2023, pledging to former caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and considered herself an ISIS member afterward.

The teen aspired to support ISIS by marrying a fighter in Syria and raising sons who would become fighters.

Between September 2023 and April 2024, she searched for flights from Singapore to Syria three times and planned to save money for the journey.

She was in at least eight short-term online relationships with overseas-based ISIS supporters between July 2023 and December 2024, including an alleged fighter in Syria.

While her main goal was to marry an ISIS fighter and start a family, she was also willing to fight in Syria herself.

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Influenced by videos of female ISIS fighters, she hoped to die as a martyr.

Her mother knew she was exposed to pro-ISIS materials and advised against it but did not think further intervention was needed.

The girl actively reposted extremist materials online and shared content with some classmates, though none took the materials seriously or reported them to teachers.

ISD investigations indicate she acted alone and did not successfully radicalise her schoolmates.

Rising Trend of Youth Radicalisation in Singapore

Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam spoke to media at Masjid Maarof on 2 Apr, expressing concern about the trend of self-radicalised youth.

“I think we all need to be worried because… if Muslims get attacked, it’s bad for the Muslim community, but it’s bad for Singapore – because we are one community,” he said.

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Since 2015, ISD has dealt with 17 people aged 20 and below under the ISA. All were self-radicalised online, and nine had planned attacks in Singapore.

The 17-year-old is the fourth young Singaporean dealt with under the ISA since December 2020 for far-right extremist ideologies. Tarrant’s online manifesto had influenced all four.

Mr Shanmugam noted there are likely other radicalised individuals in Singapore who may be consuming extremist content and planning attacks.

“We have to get it right every time. Those who are either on the far right or with tendencies towards extremism on the Islamic side have to only get it right once, and they will kill some people,” he warned.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim emphasized the need for early reporting of radicalisation signs to maintain community harmony.

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Speaking in Malay, Assoc Prof Faishal said Singaporeans should consider themselves lucky that ISD managed to intervene in both cases despite the lack of reporting.

Anyone who knows or suspects someone has been radicalised can call the ISD Counter-Terrorism Centre hotline at 1800-2626-473.

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Siti Hajar