January 9, 2025
SINGAPORE – About 80 wanted people on the Interpol Red Notice list have ties to Singapore, including about 40 who are Singaporeans.
This was revealed by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam in a written parliamentary reply on Jan 7.
He was responding to questions from Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC), Mr Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC) and Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) about Interpol Red Notices.
A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
It is not an arrest warrant, but an international alert for a wanted person published at the request of a member country, said Mr Shanmugam.
He added that a Red Notice does not automatically give the police powers to arrest the subject, and that the police can do so only if there is an extradition request made under an extradition treaty.
He said: “Where the issuing country of an Interpol Red Notice has contacted us, our relevant authorities cooperate with them within the ambit of our laws. We may also contact them proactively if we have significant security concerns, or there is sufficient evidence that offences might have been committed under our laws.”
Interpol notice lists are largely used by law enforcement agencies worldwide, with only some notices made available to the general public.
Currently, the identities of only five Singaporeans with Red Notices issued against them can be found on Interpol’s website.
They are:
- Siak Lai Chun, a former bank executive who allegedly stole $18.7 million using fake cashier’s orders;
- Muhammad Ridzuan Johan, who is wanted for a murder in 2007;
- Muhammad Faidhil Mawi, who is wanted for a murder in 2006;
- Neo Soon Joo, a former cabby who was allegedly behind a 2008 armed robbery and kidnapping;
- Pony Poh Yuan Nie, a former principal of a tuition centre who helped several students cheat in the 2016 O-level examinations.
Mr Shanmugam said he was unable to share more details about the Red Notices issued against those linked to Singapore as such information comes from Interpol and the issuing countries.
But he said that when a person with links to Singapore is subject to an Interpol Red Notice, they will be investigated and kept under close watch, with action taken if there is enough evidence to do so.
And if they are foreigners deemed to be an immediate threat to the safety and security of Singapore, then they will be removed from Singapore and may also be declared as prohibited immigrants.
Mr Shanmugam said: “All new applications and renewals for immigration facilities are screened against available adverse information. The presence of any adverse information, including Interpol Red Notices, are considered during the assessment.”
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that of the approximately 80 persons with links to Singapore on the Red Notice list, about half were not in Singapore as at December 2024.
It added: “The foreigners among these 80 individuals were not traced to adverse information and Interpol Red Notices at the point of being granted long-term immigration facilities.”
This means that these foreigners had entered Singapore before the Red Notices were issued against them.
The questions in Parliament come after reports that Singapore did not arrest a Chinese national and Singapore permanent resident who is accused of money laundering, even though there was an Interpol Red Notice issued for him.
The man, Yan Zhenxing, who is in his 40s, was detained in Batam on Dec 2, 2024, when he travelled there from Singapore for a holiday with his family.
He is alleged to be involved in laundering some 130 million yuan (S$24.2 million) linked to online gambling.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) later issued a statement saying it was aware of the Red Notice against Yan, but did not receive any request for assistance from the Chinese authorities.
SPF added that there was not enough evidence that he committed money laundering offences under Singapore’s laws, and that his PR status was granted before the Red Notice against him.
- David Sun is The Straits Times’ crime correspondent. He has a background in criminology and is a licensed private investigator.