SINGAPORE, Sept 12 — A 33-year-old Singaporean who wanted to undertake armed violence in Syria was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said today.
Ahmed Hussein Abdul Kadir Sheik Uduman, who works as an information technology (IT) engineer, became convinced that he should fight and die as a martyr for the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (IS) in its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq in late 2016, the MHA said in a press release.
Since then, the self-radicalised man “maintained regular contact” with foreign pro-IS individuals on social media, and “tried to influence” some of his foreign online contacts to follow the radical teachings he had been following.
The MHA did not disclose if Ahmed had tried to leave Singapore for Syria.
Ahmed’s path to radicalisation started in 2013 when he turned to the Internet for religious knowledge.
Among other things, he followed the lectures of foreign radicals such as the deceased al- Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki and several others who have been arrested or imprisoned for inciting violence or espousing support for terrorism, said MHA.
Ahmed is the latest addition to some 90 individuals who were detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities since 2002. About three-quarters of them had been released from detention.
In the same press release, the MHA announced that Munavar Baig Amina Begam who was detained in November last year for supporting IS and harbouring the intention to make her way to Syria to join the terrorist group has been released from detention.
The 39-year-old was issued a suspension direction in July this year as “it was assessed that she no longer posed an imminent security threat that required her to be placed in preventive detention”, said MHA.
However, Amina must abide by several conditions and restrictions.
For instance, she is not permitted to change her residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the prior approval of the director of the Internal Security Department (ISD).
She also cannot issue public statements, address public meetings or print, distribute, contribute to any publication, hold office in, or be a member of any organisation, association or group without the prior approval of the ISD director. — TODAY
