Singapore warns of radicalisation via gaming as 2 teens issued orders under ISA law
- In two separate cases, a 15-year-old boy considered beheading non-Muslims, while a 16-year-old pledged allegiance to Isis in an online game, authorities said
- The Internal Security Act is a law that grants the home affairs minister power to detain individuals without trial for two-year terms
Two Singaporean teenage boys have separately been issued orders under the country’s Internal Security Act (ISA) for terrorism-related activities after allegedly becoming radicalised online, including through an Islamic State-themed gaming server, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Tuesday.
One of the accused, a 15-year-old boy who is the youngest person to be held under the law, has been detained since November after he was arrested, the ISD said. The other, a 16-year-old, was issued with a restriction order in January, limiting his movements and preventing him from issuing public statements.
“At the point of his arrest, the youth was deeply entrenched in his radical views, but had yet to undertake any steps towards actualising his attack ideations,” it added.
The ISA gives the home affairs minister the power to detain individuals without trial for two-year terms that can be renewed at the minister’s discretion. In recent years, the colonial-era law has been used against suspected militants.