SINGAPORE - Police in Singapore have detained a pre-school assistant who shared pro-Islamic State group materials online and intended to travel to Syria, their first arrest of a female Singaporean citizen alleged to be a sympathiser of the radical group, the Home Affairs Ministry said Monday.
The suspect worked at PCF Sparkletots, a chain of government pre-schools, planned to travel to Syria with her young child and "was intent on joining" the Islamic State group, the ministry said.
"She also said that she was prepared to undergo military training and engage in armed combat to defend ISIS, if called upon by the terrorist group to do so."
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The ministry issued a statement saying that 22-year-old Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari was arrested earlier this month under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. Singaporean authorities since 2015 have detained 14 Singaporean males suspected of being Islamic State group sympathisers.
The detention of the first Singaporean woman for suspected Islamist radicalism comes as concern is growing about the spread of Islamic State in the region. Singapore and its neighbours recently began intelligence cooperation aimed at stemming the movement of militants across their borders.
Singapore has reiterated over the past year that it is a target of Islamist groups and has urged the public to be alert.
Izzah was detained earlier this month for intending to make her way to Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and Syria with her child, the ministry said.
"She supported ISIS's use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared 'caliphate', and aspired to live in it," the ministry said, referring to Islamic State.
Izzah: Family may be prosecuted for aiding radicalisation. (Photo supplied)
Late Monday, Singapore-based Channel NewsAsia reported that authorities are looking into taking action against one of her family members who destroyed important evidence relating to her plans to join the IS.
"The Government takes a serious view of the withholding of information that is pertinent to the safety and security of Singapore and Singaporeans," said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday.
"This is especially so if the failure to report leads to violent activities that would kill or cause harm to others."
A family member allegedly destroyed important evidence relating to her plans to join IS in an attempt to minimise her acts, MHA said.
Izzah, a contract assistant at the Sparketots infant care centre, was radicalised as early as 2013 by online propaganda with links to Islamic State and she shared pro-Islamic State material on social media.
She had also sought a militant husband in Syria, the ministry said.
"She said that since 2015, she was looking for 'a Salafi or an ISIS supporter' to marry and settle down with him and her child in Syria," the ministry said.
"She said she would support her husband if he fought for ISIS in Syria as she believed she would reap ‘heavenly rewards’ if he died in battle. With her ‘elevated status’ as a ‘martyr’s widow’, she felt she could easily marry another ISIS fighter in Syria."
Izzah has been detained under the Internal Security Act, a colonial-era law that allows authorities to detain anyone seen as a threat to security for up to two years.
Three male Singaporeans out of the 14 detained have been detained under the act over the past year.
Two of them were "Syria-bound militants" while the third was detained for "terrorism-related activities" which included supporting Islamic State and encouraging violence through Facebook posts.
Singapore said late last year it had deported nearly 70 foreigners including five maids for suspected radicalism over the previous two years.
Authorities in neighbouring Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, said last year they had arrested six Indonesian suspects with links to Islamic State who were plotting an attack on Singapore.