SINGAPORE, May 9 — A 29-year-old mover at a logistics company was detained in April under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after having made preparations to travel to overseas conflict zones to undertake armed violence.
In a statement today, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said Radjev Lal Madan Lal, 29, was considering travelling to Afghanistan to join the Taliban at the time of his arrest.
Radjev had started down the path of radicalisation in 2013 after he was introduced to the online sermons of foreign radical preacher Imran Hosein. These sermons resonated with Radjev, who had a keen interest in conspiracy theories, said ISD.
Imran was banned from entering Singapore in 2007 due to his radical preaching on the imminent coming of the End of Times, the rise of the Black Flag Army (BFA) and a call for violent action for all Muslims.
The BFA is prophesised to be a Muslim army carrying black flags led by Mahdi, the saviour of Muslims, which will emerge from Khorasan, a historical region covering parts of modern day Afghanistan and north-east Iran, to engage in a final battle with the non-believers during the End of Times.
Terror groups, including the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), have appropriated the imagery of the black flags to garner support for their struggle for power.
The 29-year-old became deeply radicalised by the online teachings of Imran and other foreign radical preachers such as Anwar Al-Awlaki and Musa Cerantonio, becoming convinced that it was his religious obligation to partake in armed violence with the BFA to kill the “enemies” of Islam, added ISD.
“He believed that dying as a martyr on the battlefield alongside the BFA would earn him rewards in the afterlife,” said ISD.
Radjev made preparations to undertake armed violence, believing at different points in time that Isis, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban were possible manifestations of the BFA, added ISD.
ISD said Radjev abandoned a plan to travel to Syria and join Isis in 2014 after watching a video by Imran, who disputed that Isis was the BFA, but continued to make preparations for armed violence and at the time of his arrest believed that the Taliban might represent the BFA.
However, there are no signs that Radjev had any specific attack plans against Singapore.
He however 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, said ISD.
Two self-radicalised singaporeans released
Separately, two self-radicalised Singaporeans were released from detention under the ISA in January and February.
“They had shown good progress in their rehabilitation and were assessed to no longer pose a security threat requiring preventive detention,” said ISD.
Hazim Syahmi Mahfoot, 31, was released on a Suspension Direction in January 2022.
He had been detained under the ISA in January 2019 as an associate of Singaporean Mohamed Kazali Salleh and was influenced by the latter’s radical outlook to the extent that he believed he should undertake armed violence against the perceived enemies of his religion.
Ruqayyah Ramli, 35, was released on a Suspension Direction in February 2022.
She had been detained under the ISA in April 2021 after being radicalised by her husband, Malaysian Mohd Firdaus Kamal Intdzam and had supported his intention to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS.
She was initially issued with a restriction order in August 2020, but was subsequently detained in April 2021 after an escalation in her radical behaviour. — TODAY
