About 80 individuals with ties to Singapore are currently on Interpol’s Red Notice list, with approximately 40 of them being Singapore citizens. This was disclosed by Minister for Home Affairs & Law K Shanmugam in a written parliamentary reply on 7 January 2025.
The Minister was responding to questions raised by Workers’ Party (WP) Members of Parliament (MPs), including WP Chairman Sylvia Lim, Sengkang MPs Louis Chua and He Ting Ru.
They raised questions regarding the government’s handling of Interpol Red Notices, including the tracking of affected individuals, their residency status, and the processes for assessing immigration applications against such notices.
They also queried how PRs on Red Notice lists are managed and whether requesting or home countries are informed.
Red Notices do not authorise arrests without extradition requests, says Shanmugam
A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but serves as a request from a member country to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition or similar legal action.
Shanmugam clarified that Red Notices do not grant police the authority to arrest unless an extradition request is made under a treaty.
“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,” said the Minister.
Interpol Red Notices are primarily used by law enforcement, and only some notices are publicly available.
Currently, five Singaporeans with active Red Notices are listed on Interpol’s public database.
These include:
- Siak Lai Chun, a former bank executive accused of embezzling S$18.7 million through fake cashier’s orders.
- Muhammad Ridzuan Johan, wanted for a murder in 2007.
- Muhammad Faidhil Mawi, wanted for a murder in 2006.
- Neo Soon Joo, a former taxi driver implicated in a 2008 armed robbery and kidnapping.
- Pony Poh Yuan Nie, a former tuition centre principal who orchestrated exam cheating in the 2016 O-levels.
Singapore’s approach to Red Notice subjects
Shanmugam explained that individuals with ties to Singapore who are subjects of Red Notices are thoroughly investigated and closely monitored.
Actions are taken if sufficient evidence of criminal activity is found.
Foreigners deemed an immediate threat to national security are removed from Singapore and may be declared prohibited immigrants.
“All new applications and renewals for immigration facilities are screened against available adverse information. The presence of any adverse information, including Interpol Red Notices, is considered during the assessment,” Shanmugam noted.
MHA revealed to the state media The Straits Times that about half of the 80 individuals linked to Singapore on the Red Notice list were not in Singapore as of December 2024.
It added that the foreigners among these 80 individuals had not been flagged with adverse information or Red Notices at the time they were granted long-term immigration facilities, indicating they entered Singapore before the notices were issued.
Case of Chinese national Yan Zhenxing
Recent questions on this issue were partly prompted by the case of Yan Zhenxing, a Chinese national and Singapore permanent resident, who was subject to a Red Notice.
Yan was detained in Batam, Indonesia, on 2 December 2024, after travelling there from Singapore with his family.
He is accused of laundering 130 million yuan (S$24.2 million) linked to online gambling.
Singapore police acknowledged the Red Notice against Yan but clarified that they had not received any formal assistance request from Chinese authorities.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) further stated that there was insufficient evidence to charge Yan for offences under Singaporean law.
His PR status was granted prior to the issuance of the Red Notice.
