Singaporean-Chinese teen who identified as white supremacist given restriction order under anti-terror law

A 16-year-old Singaporean student who identified as a white supremacist and aspired to conduct attacks against minority groups overseas was issued with a restriction order under the Internal Security Act in November 2023, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Wednesday.

He is the second Singaporean to be dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for being radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies.

The first was detained under the ISA in December 2020, and ISD said on Wednesday that he was released and issued with a Suspension Direction this month.

ISD said the 19-year-old Singaporean had made good progress in his rehabilitation and was assessed to “no longer pose an imminent security threat”.

The 16-year-old who was issued the restriction order in November first chanced upon videos online by American far-right political commentator and white supremacist Paul Nicholas Miller, who advocated for a race war, in 2022.

By early 2023, he had developed an intense hatred of communities typically targeted by far-right extremists, including African Americans, Arabs and LGBTQ individuals.

He also perceived illegal Arab immigrants as having committed violent attacks against white populations in Western countries.

The youth took part in several far-right online chat groups and channels, where he shared violent anti-African American videos, as doing so gave him a sense of belonging to the white supremacist community, the ISD said.

At the point of investigation, he strongly identified as a white supremacist and pro-white sympathiser, and hoped to be recruited for violent attacks by white supremacist groups overseas to “fight for the whites”.

The student had considered travelling to Western countries such as France, Italy, the