Acting As Paid Agent of Foreign State: Singaporean Detained Under ISA

SINGAPORE, June 15 (Bernama) -- An Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) has been issued against a Singaporean with effect from Jan 29, 2021, for acting as a paid agent of a foreign state, according to the Singapore Internal Security Department (ISD) on Tuesday. ISD said Dickson Yeo was arrested by the department on Dec 30, 2020, following his deportation from the US where he had admitted to and was charged in the US federal court for acting within the US as an illegal agent of a foreign power without first notifying the Attorney General. "ISD's investigations established that Yeo had worked for the intelligence apparatus of a foreign state and had carried out various taskings given to him by his foreign handlers in exchange for monetary gains," said the department in a statement posted in the republic Ministry of Home Affairs' website. ISD said Yeo admitted to being fully aware that his foreign handlers were working for the intelligence apparatus of the foreign state. "He was tasked to source for information and provide reports on issues of interest to his foreign handlers, including information relating to Singapore," it said. Towards this end, ISD said he had approached various individuals in Singapore in an attempt to obtain information for the purpose of writing his reports. The department said Yeo had set up a front company in Singapore as a cover for his information-gathering activities as well as recruitment for his foreign handlers. "He had also tried, but failed, to secure employment in the Singapore government sector to further his information-gathering activities. Yeo had carried out these activities over a period from 2016 until his arrest in the US in 2019," it said. ISD noted that investigations are still ongoing and his continued detention is necessary to facilitate probes into the full extent of his activities. "The Singapore Government takes a very serious view of anyone who enters into a clandestine relationship with a foreign government and engages in activities at the behest of the foreign power that is inimical to our national security and interests, including bilateral relations," it said. -- BERNAMA