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SINGAPORE – A man detained under the Internal Security Act after actively spreading radical ideology online was indicted in district court on Thursday (October 8) for a passport-related matter.
Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, who used to have dual citizenship for Singapore and Australia, is accused of making a false statement when he applied for a Singapore passport in 2013.
In a statement on Thursday, the Singapore Ministry of the Interior (MHA) said that he has since renounced his Singapore citizenship and ceased to be a citizen on August 26 this year.
The 49-year-old, who was represented by attorney Lock Zhi Yong, is expected to plead guilty to the crime under the Passport Law at his next court appearance on October 22.
Zulfikar allegedly made the false statement electronically in the Electronic Passport Online System Application on December 11, 2013.
It is said that he declared that he had not acquired the citizenship of another country when he applied for the Singapore passport.
The MHA said in its statement that Zulfikar was arrested by the Department of Internal Security (ISD) in Singapore, and has been detained under the ISA since July 2016 for his active promotion of terrorism and glorification of the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria. online. .
His actions contributed to the radicalization of at least two Singaporeans. They are Muhammad Shamin Mohamed Sidek, who was detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities, and Mohamed Saiddhin Abdullah, whose restraining order was allowed to expire on July 26 this year.
“Zulfikar had also exhorted Muslims to reject the constitutional, secular and democratic state in favor of the establishment of an Islamic state governed by the law of Syria. He believed that violence should be used to achieve this goal if necessary,” said the ministry.
He added that Zulfikar had resettled with his family in Australia in 2002.
“During investigations by ISD and the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA), he admitted that he had entered Singapore with his Singapore passport and withheld information about his Australian citizenship.
“He also admitted to falsely declaring to the ICA that he did not have citizenship of another country when he applied to renew his Singapore passport in 2013, as he did not want to renounce either,” the MHA said.
If convicted of the crime under the Passport Law, Zulfikar can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $ 10,000.
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