S'porean man, 51, allegedly organised Tuas dormitory event for foreign preacher with alleged terror links

A 51-year-old Singaporean director of an electrical company allegedly invited a Bangladeshi preacher with alleged terror links to give a sermon to migrant workers at a dormitory in Tuas.

Abdus Sattar was charged on Mar. 27 with organising a public assembly without a police permit and abetting a foreigner to conduct activities as a religious speaker without a work pass, according to a joint release by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Sattar's company, SBM Electrical & Automation, which also operates the dormitory, has been charged with failing to maintain an updated record of persons entering and leaving the dormitory premises.

Did not apply for event permit or speaker's work pass

SPF and MOM said that Sattar invited two Bangladesh nationals, Amir Hamza and Ullah Mohammed Neamat, to a religious public assembly at Lantana Lodge at Tech Park Crescent on Aug. 9, 2024.

It also happened to be National Day.

During the event, Amir Hamza allegedly preached to the migrant workers, while Ullah allegedly performed songs to the crowd.

These activities were conducted without the necessary police permit and public entertainment licence, said SPF and MOM.

Sattar also did not apply for a work pass for Amir Hamza to deliver the religious talk.

Preacher was on watchlist but entered S'pore

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had said in a previous release that Amir Hamza's sermon was "politicised" and included many extremist segregationist statements.

He held up alleged Bangladeshi extremists as “bastions of religious piety”, including several leaders of the Islamist party Jamaat e-Islami, which is banned in Bangladesh.

He also called the previous Bangladeshi government led by former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina “oppressors”, and claimed they sentenced individuals to death for opposing them.

Amir Hamza was already on Singapore authorities' watchlist due to his past statements promoting religious intolerance and his reported involvement in a pro-Al-Qaeda organisation in Bangladesh, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam said in parliament last September.

However, Amir Hamza used a passport bearing a different name to apply for a visa to enter Singapore,  Shanmugam said.

As this was his first visit to Singapore, his biometrics were not in the database, and he was able to enter Singapore undetected.

Dormitory let in other workers to attend event without records

After giving the extremist sermon, Amir Hamza left Singapore the next day, on Aug. 10.

On Aug. 12, authorities received police reports that Amir Hamza had preached to Bangladeshi migrant workers at a dormitory.

MHA said it would be investigating Amir Hamza, the organiser and other persons involved in the event.

Prosecutors have accused Sattar of soliciting Amir Hamza’s services as a speaker, aiding him in his travels and promoting his religious talk at the Tuas dormitory, The Straits Times reported.

SBM, the dormitory operator, was also found to have allowed a large number of foreign workers not residing at the dormitory to enter its premises for the event, without keeping records of their coming and going, said SPF and MOM.

Their cases are still before the courts.

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Top image from Google Maps & Mufti Amir Hamza/X