ISD detains teen who identified as 'East Asian supremacist' and aspired to carry out attacks in Singapore

Two Singaporeans who were self-radicalised online have been issued orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Monday (Feb 10).

The first, 18-year-old student Nick Lee Xing Qiu, was given a detention order last December.

He was radicalised by violent far-right extremist ideologies and aspired to carry out attacks against Malays and Muslims in Singapore. The teen also identified as an "East Asian supremacist" who believed in the superiority of Chinese, Korean and Japanese ethnicities.

The other Singaporean, 56-year-old housewife Hamizah Hamzah, was issued with a restriction order.

Her radicalisation was triggered by the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict, which led her to support the Axis of Resistance (AOR), a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations.

Idolised New Zealand mosque shooter

Lee had aspired to carry out attacks in Singapore, which included using homemade guns and knives against Muslims at a mosque. He also considered throwing Molotov cocktails - which he believed would increase the chances of casualties - at his Muslim neighbours during a religious holiday, said ISD.

"While he claimed to lack the courage to conduct an attack alone, he admitted that he would have participated in attacks together with his online contacts," they added.

ISD said that the student first started developing antipathy towards Muslims in early 2023, after he came across Islamophobic and far-right extremist content on social media.

He also searched for the livestreamed video footage of far-right terrorist Brenton Tarrant's attacks against Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March 2019.

The mass shootings at two mosques, which left 51 people dead and dozens more wounded, is the deadliest attack in the country's history.

"[Lee] watched the video repeatedly, becoming de-sensitised to the violence in the video," said ISD.

"He idolised Tarrant and started role-playing as Tarrant in a violent online simulation game, downloading video game modifications so he could pretend to be Tarrant killing Muslims at the Al-Noor Mosque in Christchurch (one of the mosques that Tarrant attacked)."

According to ISD, by early 2024, Lee had developed a strong enmity towards Malays and Muslims, as well as other ethnicities traditionally targeted by far-right extremists including Jews, Mexicans, African-Americans, and Indians, believing that killing them was justified.

Lee "visibly showcased his allegiance to the far-right community" by getting a tattoo on his elbow of a "sonnenrad" - a sun wheel or black sun symbol that featured on Tarrant's manifesto and rucksack during the Christchurch attack.

He also ordered custom-printed t-shirts on an online shopping platform, which featured the sonnenrad and skull logos commonly used by neo-Nazi, white supremacist and other far-right groups.

Envisioned starting 'race war' in Singapore

ISD said that Lee believed that violent action had to be taken to prevent the Chinese majority in Singapore from being supplanted by what he perceived to be a "rapidly growing Malay population".

"Lee envisioned starting a 'race war' between Chinese and Malays in Singapore, by creating anti-Malay/Muslim propaganda to post online, to generate animosity between Chinese and Malays, and force Malays out of Singapore or be killed," said ISD.

To instigate others to conduct attacks against Malays/Muslims, the student started a social media account in late 2024, which he used to re-post far-right extremist videos. He also uploaded about 20 self-created clips that glorified far-right terrorists and contained anti Malay/Muslim rhetoric.

According to ISD, Lee is the third Singaporean who was dealt with under ISA following radicalisation by far-right extremist ideologies.

A 16-year-old was detained in December 2020 after planning to conduct terrorist attacks using a machete against Muslims at two mosques in Singapore, while another 16-year-old was issued a restriction order in November 2023 after he aspired to conduct overseas attacks as a white supremacist.

"Though far-right extremism is often associated with white supremacy, its broader messages promoting ethno-religious chauvinism, racism, and xenophobia, can still appeal to non-whites," said ISD.

"Youths may be more susceptible to such ideologies and may gravitate toward the sense of belonging and identity that far-right movements appear to provide."

Housewife developed hatred for Israel

As for 56-year-old Hamizah, ISD said that she was issued with a restriction order in January.

The housewife had "developed a hatred for Israel and the Israel Defence Forces", believing they should be eradicated for their actions against Palestinians, said ISD.

"In this regard, she became a fervent supporter of the Axis of Resistance (AOR), seeing its members such as Hamas, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, as mujahideen (fighters), and their violent acts as being justified."

Believing that she did not have the physical prowess and necessary resources to take up arms in the Israel-Hamas conflict, ISD said that Hamizah showed her support by posting pro-AOR content on her social media accounts.

"She was committed to garnering support for AOR, and would create new accounts whenever her accounts were banned for the violent content she posted."

Hamizah also ran several pro-AOR social media groups.

Besides frequently voicing her enmity towards Israel and the IDF and making violent threats against their supporters, Hamizah also "encouraged others to engage in armed violence against the IDF," ISD added.

While she had no intentions to engage in armed violence locally or overseas, she was a security concern due to her staunch support for the AOR and their violent operations and willingness to spread propaganda to promote their cause, ISD said.

'Remain vigilant': ISD

ISD also reminded the public to remain vigilant to signs of self-radicalisation, so that the authorities can "intervene early to avert a tragedy".

"Family members and friends are best placed to notice changes in behaviour and alert the authorities if they suspect their loved ones have been radicalised," said ISD.

Possible signs of radicalisation include, but are not limited to:

• Frequently surfing radical websites
• Posting/sharing extremist views on social media platforms, such as expressing support/admiration for terrorists/terrorist groups as well as the use of violence
• Sharing extremist views with friends and relatives
• Making remarks that promote ill-will or hatred towards people of other races, religions or communities
• Expressing intent to participate in acts of violence overseas or in Singapore
• Inciting others to participate in acts of violence.

ISD also urged anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised to promptly contact its hotline 1800-2626-473.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com