Two maids jailed for financing terrorism
One of them asked her employer to remit $1,400 to an ISIS supporter's account, claiming it was for her family
Two Indonesian maids working here were jailed yesterday for financing terrorism.
Turmini, 31, who goes by one name, was jailed for 45 months after pleading guilty to three charges of financing terrorism, with two other similar charges taken into consideration.
Retno Heryani, 37, was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to two charges of financing terrorism, with another two similar charges taken into consideration.
Turmini had been working in Singapore for about six years under the same employer and drew a monthly salary of $670.
In 2018, she was exposed to radical ideologies by someone who told her she must support terrorist groups such as the Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) if she wanted to go to heaven.
She was then further exposed to radical ideologies on Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram, and became radicalised.
On Sept 19 and Oct 3 in 2018, and on Jan 30 last year, she asked her employer to help remit a total of 14 million rupiah (S$1,420) to an account that she claimed belonged to her family members.
But the account actually belonged to an ISIS and JAD supporter, and about $840 was meant to support family members of the terrorists.
Retno is a divorcee with two teenage children and had been working in Singapore for about 13 years, drawing a monthly salary of $500.
INITIAL DOUBTS
In 2012, she befriended a fellow Indonesian here and was exposed to radical ideologies through that friend's Facebook page in 2014.
She had doubts about ISIS' legitimacy then but had a change of heart in 2018.
She became fully supportive of ISIS, sharing radical articles on Facebook.
Retno explored more radical content on Telegram and WhatsApp, and added three friends to the same radical groups.
In April 2018, she entered into a relationship with an ISIS sympathiser who she now claims is her fiance.
From March to April last year, Retno remitted $810 to her partner in Indonesia, of which $140 was meant to support terrorists while the rest was meant for a business venture.
Of the $140, $40 was from her own pocket while the rest was contributed by her radical friends.
Both Turmini and Retno had reasonable grounds to believe the money they remitted would be used for militant causes, such as the killing and bombing of others.
For each charge of financing terrorism, offenders can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $500,000, or both.
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