Singapore detains three house maids for suspected terrorism financing

 

Hanoi (VNA) – Singapore has detained three female Indonesian domestic workers under its Internal Security Act for alleged radicalisation, the Singaporean government announced on September 23.

The three women have been issued with detention orders while investigations into their alleged terrorism financing activities continue, the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore said in a statement.

According to the statement, Anindia Afiyantari, 33, Retno Hernayani, 36, and 31-year-old Turmini have worked as domestic workers in the city-state for between six and 13 years.

They allegedly posted material online in support of the self-claimed Islamic State (IS) and donated funds to overseas-based entities for terrorism-related purposes.

They developed a network of pro-militant foreign online contacts, including “online boyfriends” who shared their pro-IS ideology and became strong supporters of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an Indonesia-based IS-affiliated terrorist group.

The statement added that Anindia and Retno “harboured the intention to travel to Syria to join IS”.

Since 2015, Singapore has arrested 16 foreign domestic workers who were found to have been "radicalised" but they were all repatriated without any detention orders.

The fact that the three women have been detained suggests the possibility that they could have been involved in terrorism financing.

In its terrorism threat assessment report 2019 issued in January this year, Singapore’s Home Affairs Ministry said the terrorism threat to the country remains high, adding that security agencies continue to maintain high vigilance./.