SINGAPORE – The sword-wielding man in Buangkok was beforehand investigated by the Internal Security Department (ISD) for potential terrorism-related offences however was not discovered to have been radicalised.
ISD stated on Tuesday (March 15) that it’s at present working with the police to analyze Fadhil bin Yusop, 37, who might be charged on Wednesday (March 16) with voluntarily inflicting damage by harmful weapons or means.
“ISD is working with the police to investigate this incident. Fadhil is believed to have acted alone, and preliminary investigations thus far do not suggest that the incident is an act of terror,” stated the division.
“He had allegedly consumed some unknown pills prior to leaving his home with the sword.”
ISD stated that at about 1.56pm on Monday, the police responded to a number of calls of a person swinging a sword in the course of Buangkok Crescent and stopping oncoming visitors.
The man had allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” in the course of the incident, which suggests “God is the Greatest” in Arabic. Investigations to date counsel that his acts weren’t associated to terrorism, stated ISD.
The division stated that Fadhil was beforehand investigated by the ISD in 2016 for sharing photographs of militant teams akin to Hamas’ Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades on-line.
“However, there was no indication that he was radicalised or intended to engage in armed violence. Fadhil was administered with a written warning for his social media posts,” stated ISD.
About 4 years later in January 2020, Fadhil was arrested by the police for approaching the Imam on the Al-Mawaddah mosque in Buangkok with a knife. ISD’s joint investigations with the police on the time didn’t counsel that Fadhil’s assault was terrorism-related.
“Fadhil was found to have consumed a large number of pills containing dextromethorphan, which contributed to his behaviour. He was sentenced to nine months and two weeks’ imprisonment and was subsequently released in July 2020 (after his sentence was backdated),” stated ISD.
Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant additionally present in some over-the-counter drugs.
Although Fadhil was assessed to not be radicalised, he was referred for spiritual counselling after this second incident as a matter of precaution, the division added.
The post Buangkok sword-wielding man probed by ISD twice previously but not found to be radicalised first appeared on Umorr.
