Self-radicalised Singaporean teen, former public servant issued ISA restriction orders

14-year-old is youngest to get such an order; both influenced by Israel-Hamas conflict

- Wong Pei Ting and David Sun

A 14-year-old Secondary 3 student has become the youngest person to be issued a restriction order under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Singapore.

The self-radicalised boy, who was not identified by the authorities, is among two Singaporeans issued restriction orders in the past two months.

The other individual is former public servant An’nadya An’nahari, 33, who was a manager with a statutory board at the point of investigation, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on July 15.

The ISD said both were radicalised online separately in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which started on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 people.

Israel then retaliated, launching attacks in Gaza that have killed more than 38,000 people.

The ISD said the teenager wanted to fight for the Black Flag Army (BFA) – a prophesied Muslim army that is said will engage in a final battle with non-believers during the end of times.

He considered carrying out attacks in Singapore, and started an online chat group, hoping to recruit 60 to 100 people. The ISD said he tried to radicalise his schoolmates but failed.

He said: “Worryingly, he is the youngest ISA case today. And you know, it took only a few months for him to be radicalised.

“And he also thought about attacking non-Muslims in Singapore during festivals like Chinese New Year, Christmas, Deepavali, because he considered them un-Islamic.”

The ISD said the youth’s parents had noticed he was increasingly expressing segregationist beliefs, but did not think this warranted intervention and assistance.

The 33-year-old, on the other hand, staunchly supported the Axis of Resistance, a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations, including Hamas and the Houthis, and advocated violence against Israelis and Jews, said the ISD.