29/05/2015

Teens in Trouble

Singapore Arrests 2 Teens Radicalized By ISIS

Two Singaporean teenagers radicalized by the Islamic State group were arrested by local authorities on terrorism-related charges, officials said Wednesday.

One of them, 19-year-old student M. Arifil Azim Putra Norja'i, had made plans to join ISIS abroad, the Straits Times reported, citing Singapore's ministry of home affairs (MHA). Authorities reportedly said that he had planned to conduct terror attacks in Singapore if he failed in his pursuit to travel to Syria to fight alongside the militant group. He was arrested in April.

The second was an unnamed 17-year-old who was arrested earlier this month.


Two Singapore teens held over links to ISIS


A multinational anti-terror squad is shown during training. Governments in Southeast Asia and beyond are increasingly worried about the radicalization of young people by ISIS. Photo: Internet
Singaporean authorities have arrested two teenage students for suspected links to Islamic extremists.
M Arifil Azim Putra Norja’i, 19, and an unnamed 17-year-old were held under national security laws for alleged activities related to ISIS, the self-declared Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Straits Times reported Thursday, citing the home affairs ministry.
Arifil had made plans to join ISIS and, if unsuccessful, to carry out terrorist attacks in Singapore, authorities said. 
19-year-old detained for planning to join ISIS had planned to kill President and PM Lee
 
Mr Lee was speaking at the opening of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. The terrorism threat simmering in Southeast Asia was a topic he touched on in his wide-ranging speech. -- ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN
The 19-year-old student detained last month for planning to join terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) intended to kill President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong if he could not leave Singapore for Syria, Mr Lee disclosed on Friday.

His comments, in a speech at the opening of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit, come two days after the Ministry of Home Affairs announced it had detained M Arifil Azim Putra Norja’i, and arrested another 17-year-old student who had been radicalised for further investigations.

The ministry had said Arifil gave considerable thought to how he would attack key facilities and assassinate government leaders, but did not go into details. 
Be alert to radicalisation threat: Ministers and MPs
 
Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli
A day after it was announced that a 19-year-old student planning to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and carry out attacks here had been detained, several ministers and MPs called on the public to be vigilant to the threat of radicalisation.
It was important to alert the authorities early if they suspect someone they know may be radicalised, before he does harm to himself or to others, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said in a Facebook post. "That's the best way to save them," he added.
Mr Masagos later told The Straits Times the first course of action is not necessarily to detain a person who has been brought to the authorities' attention.
19-year-old detained for planning to join ISIS had planned to kill President and PM Lee

 This was a story that was waiting to appear in our news except that we do not know when. We would like to think it was our Home Team that have tracked and nabbed them but no. We were saved by dumb luck once more. This is well and good but also make us nervous.

Don't we prefer stories where our security teams monitor and disrupt potential activities?

On the other hand the story has made us even more vigilant. Look at the number of likes in 2 hours.


PRO-ISIS TEENS KANA ISA FOR PLOTTING TERROR ATTACKS IN SINGAPORE


A Singaporean youth has been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for terrorism-related activities since April this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on Wednesday (May 27).

Additionally, another youth was arrested in May under the ISA for further investigations into the extent of his radicalisation.

The youth detained since April, M Arifil Azim Putra Norja'i, a 19-year-old post-secondary student, is the first known self-radicalised Singaporean to harbour the intention to carry out violent attacks in Singapore, said MHA.


Singapore teen in trouble again for re-posting anti-Lee video
© Provided by AFP Singaporean teenager Amos Yee leaves the state courthouse on bail after he was convicted of two criminal charges on May 12, 2015


Singapore prosecutors on Wednesday demanded that a rebellious teenager be sent to a reformatory after he re-posted a controversial video attacking the late independence leader Lee Kuan Yew.

Amos Yee, 16, currently on bail after being convicted of two criminal charges, had been expected to avoid confinement after agreeing to take the video off YouTube, where it has generated more than one million views.

Prosecutors initially recommended probation but hardened their position in a closed-door hearing Wednesday.



Teen blogger remanded for 3 weeks
 
Teenage blogger Amos Yee Pang Sang was remanded for three weeks on Tuesday (Jun 2), as a report is made to assess whether he is suitable to serve reformative training.
 
There is no bail option offered during this remand period. The case is adjourned till Jun 23.
 
The judge's decision came after Yee rejected the option of probation and a term in the Reformative Training Centre (RTC) as a sentence, sticking to his original plea for a jail term.
read more

Yee may get harsher penalty

IN COURT: Amos Yee and his parents arriving at the State Courts
Teenage blogger Amos Yee Pang Sang has shown a blatant disregard for the law again and may find himself with a tougher punishment after an urgent hearing convened by the State Courts yesterday.
This comes after Yee, 16, once again published on his blog two offensive online material, for which he had been convicted on May 12.
He had earlier taken down the offensive video and image in accordance with court orders during his conviction.
read more

related: