Three Indonesian Nationals Charged with Financing of Terrorism

1.    Three female Indonesian nationals were charged in court on 23 October 2019 for collecting and/or providing money for the purpose of facilitating terrorist acts, an offence under section 4(a) ^[1] punishable under Section 6A(a) of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act, Chapter 325 (TSOFA). They are 36-year-old Retno Hernayani, 33-year-old Anindia Afiyantari and 31-year-old Turmini.

2.     All three were investigated by the Internal Security Department and issued with Orders of Detention under the Internal Security Act in September 2019, for their support of the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Indonesia-based ISIS-affiliated group Jemaah Anshorut Daulah (JAD). Prior to their arrests, they had been working as domestic workers in Singapore for between six to 13 years.

3.     A parallel investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force found that between September 2018 and July 2019, all three individuals had allegedly collected and/or provided monies on several occasions for/to individuals in Indonesia. They had reasonable grounds to believe that these funds would be used to facilitate terrorist acts overseas:

1. Retno Hernayani, collected a total of S$100 on two occasions between March and April 2019, and provided a total of S$140 on two occasions during the same period;

2. Anindia Afiyantari provided a total of S$130 on five occasions between February and July 2019; and

3. Turmini provided a total of IDR 13 million (approximately S$1,216) on five occasions between September 2018 and May 2019.

4.     The act of collecting and/or providing money in support of terrorist purposes, regardless of the amount, is a serious offence under the TSOFA. If convicted, the Orders of Detention against the three individuals will be cancelled, and they will serve the imprisonment terms imposed by the Court.

5.     Terrorism and its financing represent a grave threat to domestic and international security, and global action is required to deprive terrorist groups of funding and materials. Singapore is part of this global effort and is strongly committed to combatting terrorism financing, regardless of whether the monies are used to facilitate terrorist acts locally or abroad.

6.     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 for facilitating or carrying out any terrorist act.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 on such activities should inform the authorities promptly.

[1] As of 1 April 2019, Section 4(a) of the TSOFA has been renamed as Section 4(1)(a) under the same Act.