Singapore—In a statement released on Monday, April 15, the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that a 35-year-old Singaporean man, Imran Kassim was charged on the same day in Court for providing money to ISIS.
The statement said that Mr Imran was charged “for providing money to support ISIS’ propaganda efforts for terrorist purposes, an offence under section 4(b) of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act, Chapter 325.”
Detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since 2017, Mr Imran is under investigation by the Internal Security Department and has been issued with a Detention Order (DO) for intending to undertake armed violence overseas.
Another investigation conducted by the Commercial Affairs Department discovered that Mr Imran had given the amount of S$450 to an individual in Turkey on October 31, 2014, toward publishing propaganda for ISIS.
The statement from MHA reads, “This act of providing money in support of terrorist purposes is a serious offence, regardless of the amount, under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act.”
The MHA further said that should Mr Imran be found guilty, this will result in the cancellation of the DO and then he will be sent to prison based on a sentence decided upon by the Court.
Furthermore, he will be held in isolation from other prisoners and receive rehabilitation while in prison, in order to prevent him from spreading his radical ideas to others. After he serves his sentence he will be assessed again to determine if rehabilitation efforts have been successful.
If it is determined that he remains a threat to the country, he may face another period of detention under the ISA.
The statement also says that all around the world, efforts are being carried out to ensure that terrorist groups are defunded.
“Globally, action is being taken to deprive terrorist groups of funding and materials. The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) has been at the forefront of driving the development and implementation of measures to counter the financing of terrorism.
This includes ensuring that countries actively pursue terrorist financing to disrupt such activities, developing a global understanding of the risks associated with terrorist financing, and providing the necessary tools to combat the risks effectively.
As an active member of the FATF, Singapore fully subscribes to the FATF standards, and the regime we have put in place to combat terrorist financing is in line with the standards.”
At the end of the statement, the MHA issued a warning against providing funds to terrorist groups. “Members of the public are reminded not to remit money, of any amount, or provide any support through the provision of services, supplies or any material to a terrorist organisation or any member of a terrorist group.
“Anyone convicted of the offence of providing property and services for terrorist purposes shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both. Anyone with information of such activities should inform the authorities promptly.”
Imran Kassim was arrested in September of 2017. Back then, the MHA announced that he had been radicalised by the propaganda of Islamic State (IS).
A managing director of a logistics company, the MHA said that Mr Imran had tried to join IS in Syria at least twice and that he has been prepared to attack personnel from SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) in a global anti-IS coalition or to detain them as hostages.
Mr Imran has also wanted to join the pro-IS forces in Malawi, in the Philippines, and that he has used multiple accounts on social media to promote pro-IS materials./TISG
Read related: Two Singaporeans arrested for terrorism-related activities
https://theindependent.sg.sg/two-singaporeans-arrested-for-terrorism-related-activities/