Born: 1995;

Place of Birth: Bangladesh;

Gender: Male;

Nationality: Bangladeshi;

General Info:
Ahmed Faysal is a Bangladeshi national who came to Singapore to be a construction worker, who also supported militant groups in Syria.

Ahmed worked as a construction worker in Singapore, earning between S$900 and S$1,200 monthly.

He initially supported the Islamic State’s goals to establish an Islamic caliphate in Syria, first learning about jihad and the Syrian civil war on Facebook.

Also, he used multiple Facebook accounts with temporary email addresses and phone numbers and posted about jihad.

He considered going to Syria to help the Islamic State destroy the Syrian government, but did not do so as he did not have the money to travel to Syria and needed to support his family back in Bangladesh.

Ahmed became disillusioned with the Islamic State in mid-2019 after watching videos of Muslim scholars condemning the group for killing innocent civilians in their process of achieving an Islamic caliphate.

He began supporting HTS instead, as he thought HTS was “less brutal” in achieving its goals.

When Ahmed was told that HTS has detained, tortured and executed civilians, he said he nonetheless supported HTS in its fight against the Syrian government, which he believes to be oppressing Syrian Muslims.

In mid-2019, Ahmed began following a Facebook page of a doctor who claimed to have Bangladeshi roots and who was purportedly working in a hospital in Idlib, Syria.

The doctor published posts on his page supporting the violent overthrowing of the Syrian government and voicing his support for HTS members.

He also livestreamed videos to appeal for money in a fund-raising campaign purportedly for a hospital that treated injured HTS soldiers.

Influenced by this content, Ahmed made 15 transfers totalling S$891.98 while believing the money would benefit a terrorist entity.

Ahmed was found to be in possession of seven knives when he was arrested. He admitted buying multiple knives to be “ready for jihad”.

However, he said he did not intend to use the weapons in Singapore as he wanted to remain out of trouble and support his family back home.

He was sentenced to two years and eight months’ jail on Monday (Feb 21). He pleaded guilty to five charges under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act, with another 10 charges taken into consideration.

The maximum punishment for terrorism financing is a jail term of up to 10 years along with a fine of up to $500,000.