• Update 17 Aug 2024: adding two persons to the list
• Update 21 Oct 2024: adding 17 years old arrested in Aug

The People’s Action Party (PAP) came into power in 1959 and is still in power today. The Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows the government to arrest and imprison people without trial is frequently used against members of the opposition parties as well as nipping dissent in the bud. The predecessors to this law are the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, 1948 and the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance, 1955.  Thousands have been imprisoned without trial but no one except the Internal Security Department knows the exact number of prisoners. 

In 2014, a list of 1190 names of detainees was compiled and published by Loh Miao Gong (Loh Miao Ping) in the book The Operation Coldstore in Singapore, Commemorating 50 Years edited by Poh Soo Kai, Tan Kok Fang and Hong Lysa. We have updated this list which now contains 1416 names. Please see list of detainees in PDF format

From 2001, the ISA was mainly used against Muslims. This was just prior to and soon after the destruction of the Twin Towers, New York. Suspicion fell on Al-Qaeda as the attackers. 2,996 (including the 19 hijackers of the planes) lost their lives. Three of them are likely to be still in prison today.

From 2015, the ISA was used against migrant workers from Bangladesh. Many were detained for about 30 days (the period allowed under the law for investigation) and deported to their homeland. From 2016, several of those detained were charged and convicted under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act (TSOFA), 2002  for remitting small sums of money to organisations, alleged to be terrorist groups, in their home country. They were repatriated after prison sentences were completed.

From 2019, female Indonesian domestic workers were arrested under the ISA for remitting small sums of money to alleged terrorist organisations in Indonesia. Several were subsequently charged under the TSOFA and deported after serving prison  sentences. 

From 2015, many detainees were gazetted as terrorists under Schedule A of TSOFA prior to their release.

In 1995, Singapore acceded to the Treaty on the Rights of the Child. With effect from 1 July 2020, a “child” is defined as a person below the age of 18. Despite acceptance of the Treaty, young people below the age of 18 are not spared under the ISA. In December 2020, an unnamed 16 year-old youth was detained under the ISA. In November and December 2022, two youths, aged 15 and 16 years old were arrested and imprisoned under the ISA. In October 2023 an unnamed youth of 16 was arrested and released a month later under restriction orders.

Notes (updated on 8th Apr 2024)

1. The number of detainees in the list is not conclusive. Only the ISD can provide the actual number.
2. The Singapore government do not consider those who were detained for not more than 30 days as detainees. People who were detained were occasionally released within 30 days and re-detained. There have been instances where detainees were detained in this manner for 60 or 90 days. No detention orders were issued.
3. In 2011 Deputy Prime Minister revealed in parliament that from 1959 to 1990, a total of 2,460 arrests were made under the ISA and of these arrests, 1,045 were detained under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance and the ISA. The present list of 1,414 may not represent the true number of victims of the ISA. The number is likely to be more.
4. In April 2024 Minister K Shanmugam revealed in parliament that 7 alleged self-radicalised individuals are still in prison today.
5. Some of the names in the list do not set out the release dates. They may be released but we do not have information.

We hope that the government will issue a full list of detainees one day.