Two Singapore auxiliary police officers arrested under ISA
Two auxiliary police officers have been arrested for terrorism-related offences under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Tuesday (June 20) that the duo were working as AETOS Traffic Enforcement Division officers at Woodlands Checkpoint at the time of their arrest last month.
Muhammad Khairul bin Mohamed, 24, was working as an outrider, while his colleague Mohamad Rizal bin Wahid, 36, was an armed officer conducting general security duties.
Khairul was issued with an Order of Detention (OD) for his plans to undertake armed violence in Syria. Rizal had supported Khairul’s plans and was given a Restriction Order (RO), which prevents him from leaving the country or changing employment, among other things.
Khairul’s path to radicalisation began in 2012 when he went online to gather more information about the conflict in Syria after learning about it in mainstream media reports. “Through prolonged exposure to online materials on the Syrian conflict, Khairul perceived the Syrian conflict to be a ‘holy war’ in which he was prepared to die in battle as a ‘martyr’ and receive divine rewards,” the MHA said.
Khairul came to believe that the conflict was a sectarian struggle and being a Sunni Muslim, he wanted to fight against Shi’ites in Syria by joining the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The FSA is a group founded by defectors of the Syrian Armed Forces whose goal is to overthrow the Syrian government led by President Bashar Al-Assad.
In 2014, Khairul tried to reach out via Facebook to a foreign militant, as well as two other individuals whom he believed to be FSA supporters, to find out how he could get to Syria. MHA said, “At the point of his arrest, Khairul was still interested to join FSA or any other militant groups operating in Syria and engage in armed violence there. His readiness and proclivity to resort to violence in pursuit of a religious cause makes him a security threat to Singapore.”
Rizal had been aware of Khairul’s intentions to travel to Syria since 2015, as the younger man had confided in him. However, Rizal did not bring the matter to the attention of the authorities or his AETOS management, and even suggested to Khairul various ways to get to Syria and die there as a “martyr”.
According to MHA, Rizal’s failure to dissuade Khairul and report him to his superior officer was a “serious lapse of judgment”, even if he did not share Khairul’s desire to participate in armed violence.
The government reiterates that it takes a serious view of anyone who supports, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations to undertake armed violence, and particularly so if the person involved is a public servant – and especially if he or she is a uniformed officer.
The MHA reminds the public that anyone who knows someone who may be radicalised or who intends to undertake acts of violence should report that person to the Internal Security Department at telephone number 1800-2626-ISD.
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