3 Indonesian maids detained under Internal Security Act for supporting terrorism: MHA
SINGAPORE — A trio of Indonesian domestic helpers have been detained under the Internal Security Act for terrorism-related offences, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday (23 September).
In a press release, the ministry said that Anindia Afiyantari, 33, Retno Hernayani, 36, and Turmini, 31, have been issued detention orders and are being investigated for financing terrorism.
At the point of their arrest, they had been working in the Republic for between six and 13 years.
They are the first foreign domestic workers to be issued such detention orders.
This means that the total number of radicalised foreign domestic workers detected in Singapore since 2015 now stands at 19.
“None were found to have had plans to carry out acts of violence in Singapore, but their radicalisation and association with terrorists overseas had rendered them a security threat to Singapore,” said MHA.
In response to media enquiries, an MHA spokesperson said that the trio were arrested last month.
Radicalised online
According to MHA, the helpers were radicalised in 2018 after viewing online material on terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
They then joined multiple pro-ISIS social media chat groups and channels, and also set up multiple social media accounts to post pro-ISIS material.
"The three of them actively galvanised support online for ISIS. They also donated funds to overseas-based entities for terrorism-related purposes, such as to support the activities of ISIS and JAD," said MHA.
They were drawn to the “violent visuals” disseminated on these platforms, such as ISIS bomb attacks and beheading videos, as well as recycled propaganda on ISIS’s past victories in the battlefield.
The online sermons of Indonesian radical preachers such as Aman Abdurrahman and Usman Haidar bin Seff were a strong influence, added the ministry.
In particular, the three women became strong supporters of terrorist group Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an Indonesia-based ISIS affiliate that has been banned by Jakarta.
Extremist ‘online boyfriends’
The trio became acquainted with one another around the time when they were becoming radicalised. Anindia and Retno first met at a social gathering in Singapore during their off-days, while Turmini connected with them on social media.
Over time, they developed a network of pro-militant foreign online contacts, including "online boyfriends" who shared their pro-ISIS ideology, said MHA.
Anindia and Retno harboured hopes of travelling to Syria to join ISIS. The former was prepared to take up arms for ISIS in Syria and become a suicide bomber, while the latter aspired to live amongst ISIS fighters in Syria and participate in the conflict there.
“Retno believed that Muslims were duty-bound to travel to other conflict zones (apart from Syria), such as Palestine and Kashmir, to fight against ‘the enemies of Islam’,” said MHA. They were also encouraged by their online contacts to migrate to the southern Philippines, Afghanistan or Africa to join pro-ISIS groups there.
Fourth woman detained
A fourth Indonesian domestic worker was also arrested as part of the investigation, added the ministry. “Although she was not found to be radicalised, she was aware of the others’ radicalisation, but did not report them to the authorities.”
She has since been repatriated to Indonesia.
MHA said, “Singapore faces a persistent terrorism threat, fuelled by the virulent propaganda of terrorist groups like ISIS.
“The fact that all three individuals in the present case were radicalised in 2018, at a time when ISIS’s physical territory was already significantly diminished, highlights the enduring appeal of ISIS’s violent ideology.”
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