ISD Detains Singaporean Teen Who Targeted 5 Mosques in Plan to Kill Over 100 Muslims

Boy, 17, Inspired by NZ Shootings; He Is One of 2 Self-Radicalised Youth Being Dealt With

- Christine Tan and Andrew Wong

Inspired by the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019 that saw 51 Muslims murdered, a Singaporean teenager aimed to double the body count here.

In June 2024, the 17-year-old boy identified five mosques in Jurong West, Clementi, Margaret Drive, Admiralty Road and Beach Road as potential targets.

He had planned to kill at least 100 Muslims as they were leaving after Friday prayers, then kill himself.

But his scheme was thwarted by the Internal Security Department (ISD) and an order of detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) was issued against him in March.

On April 2, the ISD revealed that he was one of two self-radicalised young people being dealt with by the authorities.

A 15-year-old girl had been issued with a restriction order under the ISA in February as she had wanted to marry an ISIS fighter and start a pro-ISIS family.

She is the first female teen and the second-youngest person to be dealt with under the ISA. She had hoped to fight in Syria and die a martyr.

As for the 17-year-old, he was identified during ISD's investigations into Nick Lee, 18, another Singaporean detained under the ISA in December 2024.

The 17-year-old and Nick Lee had exchanged Islamophobic and far-right extremist materials with each other on social media.

They were self-radicalised separately, had not met and were unaware of each other's plans to conduct attacks in Singapore.

ISD said the 17-year-old's radicalisation began in 2022, when he encountered Islamophobic and far-right extremist materials online. This, coupled with his racist views against Malays, led him to hate Islam and Malays/Muslims.

He regularly reposted Islamophobic and far-right extremist materials to incite hatred against Muslims. He also engaged in online discussions with Muslims to criticise Islam.