Singapore man detained under Internal Security Act over involvement in Yemen war

The Internal Security Department said Sheik Heikel volunteered to take up arms to fight alongside a faction in the civil war while living in Yemen

Between 2012 and 2018, he collected intelligence on Yemen for a foreign power, an act in which he was paid ‘substantial amounts’ for

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Smoke billows from an army weapons depot after it was hit by an air strike in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2015. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:53pm, 9 Dec 2020Updated: 5:56pm, 9 Dec 2020

A Singaporean man was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in March last year after he was found to be actively involved in the Yemen civil war and was a paid agent for a foreign power.

Sheik Heikel Khalid Bafana, 48, assisted one of the factions in the civil war while living in Yemen and volunteered to take up arms to fight alongside the faction, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) in a statement on Wednesday.

It added that it had not disclosed this case earlier because probes into his activities were “complex” and would have jeopardised ongoing investigations. ISD said it was publicising this case now to underline Singapore’s stern stance against anyone who “supports, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations to undertake armed violence”.

In its statement, ISD said that Sheik Heikel also acted as a broker between this faction and the foreign power in an effort to secure equipment, supplies and funds to conduct military training.

Between 2012 and 2018, he collected intelligence on Yemen for the foreign power, an act in which he was paid “substantial amounts” for.

Sheik Heikel and his family migrated to Yemen around 2008 where he ran a consultancy advising foreign companies on security risks and business opportunities. He stayed on in Yemen after 2011 even when the security situation there deteriorated and other Singaporeans were evacuated. He was arrested upon his return to Singapore in February last year. His family members have not been implicated in his activities in Yemen, added ISD.