The Malaysian was found to be radicalised and wanted to travel to Syria or Palestine to partake in armed violence, the republic’s ministry of home affairs (MHA) said in a statement here today.

The other 15 were Bangladeshis, most of whom were working in the construction industry who, in response to the recent terror attacks in France, had made social media postings that incited violence or stoked communal unrest, according to the ministry.

“In view of the deteriorating security situation, the Home Team has been on heightened alert since early September, and had also stepped up its security activities to pre-empt copycat attacks in Singapore,” MHA said.

It said that a total of 37 individuals were investigated by the Internal Security Department, adding that of the total, 14 were Singaporeans and 23 were foreigners.

“The investigations into the remaining seven foreigners are still ongoing,” it said.